Boeing NC-135

The Boeing NC-135 and NKC-135 are special versions of the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter and KC-135 Stratotanker, modified to operate on several different programmes. Sandia National Laboratories configured three NC-135 aircraft as flying laboratories for the Test Readiness Program, begun in 1963 after the Limited Test Ban Treaty, to support atmospheric nuclear testing should it resume; they were based at Kirtland Air Force Base and served until 1976. Their science teams also used them to study solar eclipses, cosmic rays and ionospheric magnetic fields, flying the first eclipse mission from Pago Pago in 1965. Other conversions include the two Big Crow electronic warfare test-beds, one of which served as the target when the YAL-1 airborne laser fired in flight in March 2007, and the NKC-135A that carried a carbon dioxide laser in the Airborne Laser Lab from 1975 to 1984.