Following the 'alleged' test of a hydrogen bomb wanted by the head of the regime of Pyongyang, Kim Jong-un, in North Korea, the US Air Force has decided to send its WC-135 on the Korean peninsula to carry out of the surveys on fallout generated by the detonation and ascertain what kind of bomb it was.
The WC-135 Costant Phoenix, dubbed 'weather bird', is a derivative of the Boeing C-135 modified for 'Atmosphere Testing Related to Nuclear Incidents'. This aircraft, which can carry up to 33 highly specialized passengers (including the crew in the cockpit) is regularly used to analyze in-flight the conditions of the atmosphere following a nuclear explosion. The crew, which has also nicknamed it 'sniffer' (sniffler), is however reduced to a minimum to avoid any contamination from radioactive agents.
Through the particular pallets on the sides of the fuselage WC-135 filters the particles present in the fallout nuclear allowing the crew to analyze in real time the characteristics and power of the detonated warhead, as well as radioactivity that derives from it. On the WC-135, piloted by 45 staffth Reconnaissance Squadron of the Offutt Air Force Base there are two 'charcoal filter packs' in addition to the HEPA / ULPA filters, also called: the lungs of the air. When the instruments detect the contact with radioactive debris, the crew immediately reduces the airflow so that the cabin remains pressurized and all the personnel on board begins to inhale O2 100% through the masks. This is until the values return to the expected safety levels.
The aircraft, as well as for detections caused by nuclear tests, were used to monitor the radioactive activity caused by disasters such as those that occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (USSR, 1986) and that of Fukushima (Japan 2011). Once this mission is completed, it will be possible to have certain feedback on the statements of North Korea regarding the use of a possible 'H bomb'.
