LONDON — Britain is set to take delivery of its second Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft from US contractor L-3 Communications in the next few weeks according to sources familiar with the program.

The new aircraft will join the first RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft delivered to the Royal Air Force in late 2013 to replace BAE Nimrod R1 spy planes.

The aircraft is expected to be quickly pressed into service carrying out missions against Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said he wouldn't comment on operational details.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon confirmed the second aircraft would be arriving in August in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute think tank conference July 16.

It was expected that the second aircraft will be available for deployment within eight weeks of delivery, the MoD spokesman said.

"We can confirm we are committed to delivering the maximum output in support of UK interests as quickly as is practical," the spokesman said.

The first aircraft has for months been heavily engaged in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Delivery of the aircraft comes as government ministers and senior military officers continue to emphasize the priority being given to ISTAR in a Strategic Defence and Security Review expected to be published at the end of October.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister David Cameron called for increased spending by the British military on remotely piloted vehicles (RPV) and air surveillance assets during a Monday visit to the Royal Air Force base at Waddington in eastern England.

That point was reiterated by chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Nick Houghton, on July 15 when he told an air power conference in London organized by RUSI, "I can't stress enough the need for a greater qualitative and quantitative investment in intelligence, surveillance understanding."

Both Rivet Joint aircraft have been delivered ahead of schedule. The spokesman said the official delivery date for the second aircraft had been April 2016.

The aircraft, modified from a KC-135R tankers, have has been converted by contractor L-3 at its facility in Greenville, Texas.

The British signed a contract to take delivery of three Rivet Joints, known as the Airseeker in the UK, in a $1 billion foreign military sales deal in 2010.

The second aircraft is "conducting mission calibration tests prior to formal acceptance testing," the spokesman said.

The third aircraft in the fleet is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2017 said the spokesman.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

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