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RF-4B Phantom Project Sure
By Marc "Devil Dog Of The Web" Iseli / Updated Dec. 2025
If you thought our jets were just sun-faded relics, think again. Starting in '75, the Corps decided our RF-4Bs needed a little more than duct tape and good intentions, so they rolled out Project SURE Sensor Update and Refurbishment Effort, because Marines love a good acronym. They beefed up the airframes, ripped out the old spaghetti wiring, and the upgrades didn’t stop there.

The brass loaded us up with the AN/ASW-25B datalink (so we could send warp-speed photos back to HQ faster), swapped out the old SLAR for the AN/APD-10B, and gave us the AN/AAD-5 infrared set, because apparently, seeing in the dark is a Marine birthright. The old countermeasures pods hanging off the jets like Christmas ornaments got replaced by the ALQ-126 suite, now tucked inside with some snazzy cable ducts on the intakes. High-tech, or at least high enough for government work.tronic countermeasures suite, with characteristic cable ducts mounted on the sides of the intakes.

The first 34 RF-4Bs (BuNos 151975/151982 and 152089/153113) kept the same engines and skinny jeans airframe as the F-4B, because why mess with mediocrity? However, the last twelve (BuNos 153114, 153115, and 157342/157351) rolled off the line with wide wheels and the beefy 'thick' wing from the F-4J—finally, some muscle. The last threee (157349/157351) got a fancy undernose bulge, just like the Air Force’s RF-4Cs, which made them look faster and gave the crew a little more room to stash questionable gear. Aerodynamics improved, egos inflated.

RF-4B Phantom Modifications
RF-4B Phantom PDF
In Detail & Scale Magazine

Alright, you glorious Rat Phixers and Phlyers, if we ever survived a TAD, a Det, or a BOHICA, who haven't, and you didn’t think I was the biggest gaff off in the squadron. Got a sea story, or some grainy photos your ex didn’t set on fire, and they’re only slightly illegal? Send ‘em by email, snail mail, or safety wire it to a carrier pigeon. I collect ‘em all, just nothing that would incriminate me.
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