ABOUT

Robert S Hopkins, III, is an independent scholar. As a second-generation SAC pilot, he was qualified in 17 types of EC-, KC-, and RC‑135s. Hopkins participated in SAC alert as a KC‑135 tanker pilot and an EC‑135 pilot with SAC’s Post Attack Command and Control System. As an RC‑135 pilot, he was part of SAC’s elite strategic reconnaissance program verifying Soviet compliance with the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty flying the RC‑135S COBRA BALL. His crew flew the first operational sortie for the RC‑135X COBRA EYE, for which they received the General Jerome F O’Malley Award for the Best Reconnaissance Crew in the Air Force. He flew RC‑135V/W combat missions during Operation DESERT STORM.

 

In addition to appearances on multiple TV and radio programs, he has published and spoken extensively on Cold War strategic airpower and reconnaissance, as well as SAC’s operational history. He earned a PhD in US and Soviet history from the University of Virginia. Robert is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.