A Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft declared an emergency over the north east of Scotland before landing safely.

The jet squawked code ‘7700’ over the north east of Scotland.

The same aircraft had recently been patrolling close to the Russian border.

The RC-135W Rivet Joint and its sensors are designed to ‘soak up’ electronic emissions from communications, radar and other systems.

What is the significance of “Squawking 7700”?

Captain Hoke is a Boeing 757/767 captain for a package express airline and also runs the website AeroSavvy, he had this to say.

“Declaring an emergency means the crew determines they have an “urgency” or “distress” situation. “Urgency” means the crew is concerned about the safety of the flight and needs timely (but not necessarily immediate) assistance. A “distress” condition means that the flight is in serious and/or imminent danger and requires immediate assistance.”

What does the RC-135W do?

According to the Royal Air Force website, the RC-135W Rivet Joint is a dedicated electronic surveillance aircraft that can be employed in all theatres on strategic and tactical missions. Its sensors ‘soak up’ electronic emissions from communications, radar and other systems.

“RC-135W Rivet Joint employs multidiscipline Weapons System Officer (WSO) and Weapons System Operator (WSOp) specialists whose mission is to survey elements of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to derive intelligence for commanders.”

The Royal Air Force say that Rivet Joint has been deployed extensively for Operation Shader and on other operational taskings. It had been formally named Airseeker, but is almost universally known in service as the RC-135W Rivet Joint.

The UK operates three of these aircraft.

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George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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Daniele Mandelli
Daniele Mandelli
3 years ago

Another one!

David Flandry
David Flandry
3 years ago

Possible emergency due to collision with UFS.

Mark
Mark
3 years ago

Seeing as it is the RAF, perhaps the pilot found out the hotel they were booked into was only had a 3 star rating on Trip Adviser 😉
(Other Hotel review sites are available !)

David Barry
David Barry
3 years ago

Someone prudent might think that the rule of 3 – 4 might be just a tad inappropriate in maintaining an effective force.