#1627 RC-26B Condor print
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1627 - 91-0504, RC-26B Condor, Air National Guard.
The Fairchild RC-26B Condor is a twin-engine, medium-range, medium-altitude turboprop aircraft based on the Fairchild Metro 23. Tasked with counternarcotics, tactical Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), disaster response and civil support missions, the aircraft is operated exclusively by the Air National Guard (ANG) in US Air Force service. Originally, the aircraft entered ANG service in 1990 as an Operational Support Aircraft (OSA). In 1995, the C-26B was modified with a “roll-on/roll-off” Counter Drug (CD) surveillance capability equipped with still-motion photography and VHS tapes. In 1996, the US Air Force divested itself of the C-26B OSA program, however the National Guard Bureau decided to keep the C-26B aircraft exclusively for the Counter Drug mission. The aircraft was modified further with digital cameras capable of Electro-optical and Infrared (IR), Full Motion Video (FMV) and communications equipment to enable domestic and international anti-trafficking. This has enabled the crews to support a variety of operations by performing Incident Awareness and Assessment (IAA) missions by providing real-time video streaming to law enforcement agents and first responders following hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters as well as supporting overseas combat ISR requirements. Eleven C-26B aircraft were modified for the counterdrug mission, but the aircraft were attached to individual Air National Guard (ANG) units in twelve states. States included Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. Florida and New York later opted out of the mission, thereby leaving ten units. In 2005, the aircraft was officially redesignated RC-26B. From September of that year, RC-26 aircraft and crews entered a wider realm of supporting domestic operations. These included the Hurricane Katrina response effort, floods in Wisconsin in June 2008, wildfires in California in July 2008, the Republican National Convention in August 2008, and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in September of that same year. In 2010, RC-26 aircraft and crews supported Operation Unified Response – the massive earthquake relief response in Haiti, and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill during the summer of that same year. In the fire support role, aircraft sensors can detect and accurately identity wildfires at a range of 80 miles. From August 2003 to July 2013, up to five RC-26 aircraft were modified and crews deployed to Columbia to SOUTHCOM CD operations and US Special Operations Command in Iraq and Afghanistan. From 2007 to 2013, RC-26 crews provided 2,226 days of continuous combat presence. Over 10,000 combat sorties and 45,000 combat hours were flown with four RC-26B aircraft which never rotated out of the theater of operations. A total of 78 ANG wings sourced personnel to support and deploy for the mission overseas. The US SOCOM operation resulted in over 1,000 Air Medals, 15 Bronze Stars, and 15 Combat Action Medals being awarded to these airmen. Currently, the fleet is split between two different configurations: the Block 20 and Block 25R. The crew consist of two pilots, one navigator-mission systems operator, and LEA/rider who use specialized digital cameras, IR video, and communications equipment, to enable domestic and international anti-trafficking. Over the years, the ANG RC-26 crews, have accumulated a massive wealth of experience in tracking down criminals and terrorists. As a result, these assets are highly sought after by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), US Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.