Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft

Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft

The first of eight EC-135N Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft stood up at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida in 1968 where it supported all of the Apollo Missions by acquiring, recording, and relaying voice and telemetry data.

In December of 1975 the Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft were re-designated Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft and transferred to the 4950th Test Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton Ohio.

In 1994 the Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft were relocated to Edwards Air Force Base. The ARIA program came to a close August 24, 2001 as the EC-18 aircraft tail number 81-0891 touched down after its final mission.

ARIA 374 is the last complete Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft in existence and is located on display at the National Museum of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

It is fitting that this icon is back home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where we lost ARIA 328 on 6 May 1981.

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