"A U.S. aircraft that specializes in detecting radioactive debris after the detonation of a nuclear device has arrived on Okinawa amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.An Air Force WC-135 Constant Phoenix — commonly referred to as a nuke-sniffer — arrived at Kadena Air Base last Friday evening, said Satoru Kuba, an Okinawan who monitors military aircraft traffic at Kadena Air Base....
The Pentagon has often deployed one of the Air Force’s two WC-135 aircraft to the Asia-Pacific region since North Korea detonated an underground nuclear device in 2006. The plane also flew over Japan in 2011 after the meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, according to the Washington Post.
The modified C-135B uses external flow-through devices that collect air samples and debris. The samples later go to a lab for analysis.
The Constant Phoenix arrives at a time of growing tensions with North Korea, which has conducted two nuclear tests and test-fired nearly 30 missiles since last year."
https://www.stripes.com/news/nuke-sniffer-aircraft-arrives-on-okinawa-as-tensions-rise-on-korean-peninsula-1.463108#.WO4unbi1vct
The Pentagon has often deployed one of the Air Force’s two WC-135 aircraft to the Asia-Pacific region since North Korea detonated an underground nuclear device in 2006. The plane also flew over Japan in 2011 after the meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, according to the Washington Post.
The modified C-135B uses external flow-through devices that collect air samples and debris. The samples later go to a lab for analysis.
The Constant Phoenix arrives at a time of growing tensions with North Korea, which has conducted two nuclear tests and test-fired nearly 30 missiles since last year."
https://www.stripes.com/news/nuke-sniffer-aircraft-arrives-on-okinawa-as-tensions-rise-on-korean-peninsula-1.463108#.WO4unbi1vct