TD
The RC135V/W upgrade took this...
to this...
Note the new engines (and there is a lot of work to swap out hydraulic and fuel hoses for the newer CFM-56s).
Here's a link detailing some of the upgrades:
RIVET JOINT
I rather suspect that the whistle blower in your article was talking about the earlier RC135B and RC135C variants. The latter RC135V/W are "re-engined refurbs" much like the MRA4 program. The V/W variants are of the type that the RAF will get.
