Aerial refueling

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Boom and receptacle: USAF KC-135R Stratotanker, two F-15s (twin fins) and two F-16s, on an aerial refuelling training mission
Boom and receptacle: USAF KC-135R Stratotanker, two F-15s (twin fins) and two F-16s, on an aerial refuelling training mission
Probe and drogue: IAF Il-76 MD refueling two Mirage 2000 fighter jets
Probe and drogue: IAF Il-76 MD refueling two Mirage 2000 fighter jets
Probe and drogue: USAF HC-130P HIFRs a HH-60 Pave Hawk
Probe and drogue: USAF HC-130P HIFRs a HH-60 Pave Hawk

Aerial refueling, also called Air refueling or in-flight refueling (IFR) or air-to-air refueling (AAR) or (in air force slang) tanking. Applied to helicopters, it is known as HIFR ("hi fur").[1]

Air refueling is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) during flight. This allows the receiving aircraft to remain airborne longer and, more important, to extend its range and therefore those of its weapons or its deployment radius. A series of air refuelings can give range limited only by crew fatigue and engineering factors such as engine oil consumption.

Because the receiver aircraft can be topped up with extra fuel in the air, air refueling can allow a take-off with a greater payload which could be weapons, cargo or personnel: the maximum take-off weight is maintained by balancing the larger payload with carriage of less fuel. Alternatively, a shorter take-off roll can be achieved because take-off can be at a lighter weight before refueling once airborne (as with the US SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft).

Usually, the aircraft providing the fuel is specially designed for the task, although refueling pods can be fitted to existing aircraft designs if the "probe and drogue" system is to be used (see later). The cost of the refueling equipment on both tanker and receiver aircraft and the specialized aircraft handling of the aircraft to be refueled (very close "line astern" formation flying) has resulted in the activity only being used in military operations. There is no known regular civilian in-flight refueling activity. In large-scale military operations, air refueling is extensively used. For instance, in the 1991 conflict with Iraq over its occupation of Kuwait and the 2003 war against Iraq, all coalition air sorties were air-refueled except for a few short-range ground attack sorties in the Kuwait area.

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Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter performing the first mid-air refueling in 1923
Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter performing the first mid-air refueling in 1923

Some of the earliest experiments in aerial refueling took place in the 1920s, when it was as simple as two slow-flying aircraft flying in formation, with a hose run down from a hand-held fuel tank on one aircraft and placed into the usual fuel filler of the other. A DH-4B biplane remained aloft with mid-air refueling for 37 hours on June 27, 1923.

Development was rapid. In 1929, a group of U. S. Army Air Corps fliers, led by then Major Carl Spaatz, set an endurance record of over 150 hours with the Question Mark over Los Angeles. In 1930, the Hunter brothers set a new record of 553 hours 40 minutes over Chicago. Aerial refueling remained a very dangerous process until 1935 when brothers Fred and Al Key demonstrated the first spill-free refueling nozzle, designed by A. D. Hunter.[2] They exceeded the Hunters' record by nearly 100 hours in a Curtiss Robin monoplane, staying aloft for more than 27 days.[3]

A F-101A Voodoo (top right), B-66 Destroyer (top left) and F-100D Super Sabre refuel from a KB-50J tanker in the early 1960s
A F-101A Voodoo (top right), B-66 Destroyer (top left) and F-100D Super Sabre refuel from a KB-50J tanker in the early 1960s

In the UK, Alan Cobham pioneered research on the probe and drogue method, and gave public demonstrations of the system. In 1934, he founded Flight Refuelling Ltd. (FRL), and by 1938 had used an automatic system to refuel aircraft as large as the Short Empire flying boat Cambria from an Armstrong Whitworth AW.23.[3] Handley Page Harrows were used to refuel the Empire flying boats for regular transatlantic crossings. FRL still exists as part of Cobham plc.

Nowadays, specialized tanker aircraft have equipment specially designed for the task of offloading fuel to the receiver aircraft, based on Hunter's design, even at the higher speeds modern jet aircraft typically need to remain airborne.

In 1949 from February 26 to March 3 an American B-50 Superfortress "Lucky Lady II" flew non-stop around the World in 94 hours, 1 min., a feat made possible by 3 aerial refuellings from 4 pairs of KB-29M tankers. The flight started and ended at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas with the refuellings accomplished over West Africa, the Pacific ocean near Guam and between Hawaii and the West Coast. This first non-stop circumnavigation of the globe proved that vast distances and geographical barriers were no longer an obstacle to military air power, thanks to aerial refuelling.

The two most common approaches for making the union between the two aircraft are the boom and receptacle system (sometimes called flying boom) and the probe and drogue system. Much less popular was the wing-to-wing system, which is no longer used.

USAF C-5 approaches a KC-135R
USAF C-5 approaches a KC-135R

In the late 1940s, General Curtis LeMay, commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), asked Boeing to develop a refueling system that could transfer fuel at a higher rate than had been possible with earlier systems using flexible hoses. Boeing engineers came up with the concept of the “Flying Boom” system.

The B-29 was the first to employ the flying boom system, and between 1950 and 1951, 116 original B-29s, designated KB-29Ps, were converted at the Boeing plant at Renton, Washington State.

Boeing went on to develop the world’s first production aerial tanker, the KC-97 Stratotanker, a piston-engined Boeing Stratocruiser (USAF designation C-97 StratoFreighter) with a Boeing-developed flying boom and extra kerosene (jet fuel) tanks feeding the boom. The Stratocruiser airliner itself was developed from the B-29 bomber after World War II. In the KC-97, the mixed gasoline/kerosene fuel system was clearly not desirable and it was obvious that a jet-powered tanker aircraft would be the next development, having a single type of fuel for both its own engines and for passing to receiver aircraft. It was no surprise that, after the KC-97, Boeing began receiving contracts from the USAF to build jet tankers based on the Boeing 707 airframe. This modified B707 became the KC135 Stratotanker, and 732 were built.

The Boeing "flying boom" is a long, rigid, hollow shaft attached to the rear of the tanker aircraft. The attachment is flexible allowing boom movement up to 25 degrees left or right, and from flush with the bottom of the aircraft up to 50 degrees down. Mounted within the outer structural portion of the boom is a rigid tube through which the fuel passes. The tip end of the fuel tube has a nozzle attached on a flexible ball joint. The nozzle mates to the "receptacle" in the receiver aircraft during fuel transfer. A poppet valve in the end of the nozzle prevents fuel from exiting the tube until "contact" is properly made between the nozzle and receptacle. Toggles in the receptacle engage the nozzle, holding it locked during contact. Mounted on the hollow shaft surrounding the fuel tube are small wings, or ruddevators (visible in the picture, in a "V" shape) allowing aerodynamic control of the boom. The fuel tube extends and retracts hydraulically; it also "freewheels" in and out in response to the receiver's fore and aft movement during contact.

The receiver's receptacle is typically fitted on the aircraft's centerline, but design considerations may require other locations.

To complete an aerial refueling, the receiver aircraft's pilot begins by flying formation directly below and approximately 50 feet behind the boom. When cleared, he or she moves forward to the contact position aided with either voice commands (using radio) or visual commands (using lights on the bottom of the tanker) from the crew member operating the boom, called a "boom operator" or "boomer" -- an enlisted crew member in the USAF. On KC-135 tanker aircraft the boomer lies prone on a couch or pallet; on the KC-10 he or she sits. On either tanker, the boomer's position is in the back of the aircraft facing aft. Once the receiver aircraft reaches the contact position its pilot attempts to hold in place with as little relative motion between the two aircraft as possible. Using the ruddevator control stick and the extension/retraction lever the boomer may precisely position the boom's nozzle in three-dimensions. He or she aligns the boom's nozzle with the receiver's receptacle and extends the fuel tube making contact between the nozzle and receptacle. Following toggle engagement (locking the boom in place) pumps operated by the tanker's pilot force fuel through the boom into the receiver.

USAF KC-135R boom operator view
USAF KC-135R boom operator view

While in contact, pilot director indicators (two rows of lights on the tanker's bottom which change in relation to the nozzle's up/down and fore/aft movement) aid the receiver pilot in remaining within the air refueling envelope. The air refueling envelope -- a roughly cube-shaped area within which the nozzle and receptacle must remain during contact -- is slightly different for each receiver. Its boundaries are based either on boom movement limitations, or to prevent the receiver from moving into a position where any portion of the boom might touch the receiver outside the receptacle while in contact. The boom's mechanical limits stem from the both the structural limitations of yoke and trunnion system mounting the boom to the tanker, and the maximum deflection of the flexible nozzle. Should receiver movement left, right, up or down exceed the nozzle's deflection limits the nozzle could become mechanically bound in the receptacle (like trying to remove a key from a lock while pulling sideways instead of pulling straight back) preventing nozzle/receptacle disengagement. The boomer follows the receiver aircraft's movement with the ruddevator control stick to maintain alignment between the inner fuel tube and the outer structural portion of the boom. He or she also monitors the receiver's position, via three boom position indicators, and commands the toggles in the receptacle to disengage the nozzle -- a disconnect -- before the receiver aircraft can exceed any published air refueling envelope limit.

When fueling is complete, the boomer or receiver pilot (typically the boomer) commands a disconnect. Nozzle/receptacle disengagement might also occur following an automatic pressure disconnect when the receiver's fuel system has been filled to capacity. Following disconnect, the boomer retracts the fuel tube from the receptacle and flies the boom clear of the receiver. While not in use, the boom is flown or hoisted (via a cable and hydraulic pump) up to the bottom of the tanker and latched in position to minimize drag. The receiver backs away and descends clear of the tanker, then continues on its mission.

The primary advantage of the boom method is a high fuel flow rate (up to 1000 US gallons per minute for the KC-135 tanker). This is because the diameter of the fuel pipe in the flying boom was greater than could be achieved by the rival "probe and drogue" system at the time. High fuel transfer rate was considered vital for the Strategic Air Command bomber fleet when this system was selected because pilot fatigue during the refueling operation was a concern. Receiver pilots need high concentration to fly close line-astern formation throughout the procedure. Another feature of the boom system is the cost of the "boomer" -- 1990s estimates place the cost to train a boom operator at nearly $1,000,000.

In addition to the US Air Force, the boom system is in use by the Netherlands (KDC-10), Israel (modified Boeing 707) and Turkey (ex-USAF KC-135R). Possibly the largest tanker aircraft, Iran took delivery of Boeing 747 tankers equipped with a single boom and three drogues in early 1976, but the current status of these aircraft is unknown. Both Japan and Italy have contracted with Boeing for tankers based on the B767.

The European EADS group has developed a boom refueling system using "fly-by-wire" controls that is compatible with other boom systems. This is offered on modified European Airbus type aircraft that are configured as tankers.

Both Boeing and EADS are competing for a contract to supply the US Air Force with a new tanker to replace its aging KC-135 fleet.

Should one need proof of the priority the US Air Force places on aerial refuelling consider this: the initial order under the Request for Proposal is estimated to be worth $40 billion. If the US Air Force manages to gain funding to replace its entire fleet of some 500 KC-135 aircraft the cost could be well over $100 billion -- making it the largest military procurement program in world history.

Tornado GR4 refueling from the drogue of an RAF VC10 tanker over Iraq
Tornado GR4 refueling from the drogue of an RAF VC10 tanker over Iraq

The simpler and cheaper probe-and-drogue system is used by many other military organizations including the US Navy and Marine Corps and many non-US forces and can be more easily fitted to existing tanker and receiver aircraft than the flying boom system. The lower flow rates available from the lower pressure and limited diameter of the hose used in the probe-and-drogue system result in longer refueling times compared to the Flying Boom. This is not a problem, however, for smaller aircraft which do not use as much fuel as larger aircraft.

The drogue (or para-drogue), sometimes called a basket, is a fitting resembling a plastic shuttlecock, attached, at its narrow end, with a valve, to a flexible hose, running from the hose drum unit (HDU) or boom to drogue adapter (BDA). The receiver has a probe, which is a rigid arm placed on the aircraft's nose or, in some aircraft, to the side of the nose. At the end of the probe is a valve that is closed until it mates with the drogue, after which it opens and allows fuel to pass from tanker to receiver. The valves in the probe and drogue that are most commonly used are to a NATO standard and were originally developed by the company Flight Refueling Limited. Drogue-equipped tanker aircraft from many nations can refuel probe-equipped aircraft from others. The NATO standard probe system incorporates shear rivets that attach the refueling valve to the end of the probe. This is so that, if a large side-load or up-and-down load develops while in contact with the drogue, the rivets shear and the fuel valve breaks off rather than the probe itself being structurally damaged. Since the probe has a strong structural attachment to the aircraft fuselage, this also prevents the possibility of damage to the fuselage of the receiver aircraft itself. A so-called "broken probe" (actually a broken fuel valve, as described above) may happen if poor flying technique is used by the receiver pilot, or in turbulence. Sometimes the valve is retained in the tanker drogue and prevents further refueling from that drogue until removed ready for the next sortie.

The tanker aircraft flies straight and level, and the drogue attached to its flexible fuel pipe is allowed to trail out behind and below the tanker under normal aerodynamic forces. The pilot of the receiver aircraft must then use his normal flight controls to "fly" his refueling probe directly into the basket so that the basket and probe refuel valves lock together so that fuel can flow from one to the other. This requires a closure rate of at least two knots or so, less gives a so-called "soft contact" in which the valves are not properly locked and fuel can spill out, for instance over the receiver aircraft's windscreen. Too high a contact speed is dangerous and can lead to a bow developing in the hose that can cause a side-load on the valve at the end of the probe, severing its mounting on the probe, ending the refueling and maybe leading to a diversion to another airfield. The optimal approach to the drogue is from behind and below (not level with it) along the line of the hang of the drogue below its Hose Drum Unit (HDU). A good rule for the receiver pilot is, when forming behind and below the tanker, the receiver is positioned so that the drogue is visually in line with the Hose Drum Unit on the tanker. This juxtaposition of drogue and HDU as a slow approach to the drogue is made ensures that, after initial contact, the velocity vector of the receiver aircraft is in the right direction to slowly push the drogue towards the tanker at the correct angle without further flight path adjustments, allowing the hose to reel a short distance on to the HDU drum, thereby opening the main fuel valve of the tanker and allowing refueling to start. Because of the significant inertia of large aircraft when approaching the drogue, the above technique is normally followed. However, with lighter and more maneuverable fighter aircraft there is the temptation to "rush" at the drogue from the same level. This sometimes leads to a broken probe. With proper training of receiver pilots, this sort of event should be minimized.

S-3 Viking buddy tanker with drogue deployed
S-3 Viking buddy tanker with drogue deployed

Here, a long hose connects the drogue to the unit in the tanker aircraft that is to supply the fuel, the Hose Drum Unit, HDU or "Hoodoo". The hose and drogue can be either reeled in completely to the HDU for transit flight, or "trailed" to the full length of the hose so that the receiver aircraft can approach to make a refueling "contact". After initial contact, when the hose and drogue is pushed forward by the receiver by a certain distance (typically, a few feet), the hose is reeled slowly back onto its drum in the HDU and the tanker's main refueling valve opens to allow fuel to flow to the drogue under the appropriate pressure for air refueling. The hose is aerodynamically "balanced" so as to make it easier for the receiver aircraft. If the natural aerodynamic drag on the drogue was, for instance, 1000 units, unless something is done, the receiver aircraft would have to push forward on the drogue with this large force, the flexible hose would bend rather than reel in and the side-load would cause the refueling valve at the end of the probe to break off. To avoid this, a motor in the HDU provides a balancing force to the aerodynamic drag of the drogue. After initial contact, the velocity vector of the receiver carries it further towards the tanker, the hose slowly reels in to the HDU, the fuel valve opens and the receiver throttles so as not to get too close to the tanker.

The U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and other NATO nations use the probe and drogue system rather than the boom. Unlike the boom system, multiple aircraft can be refueled simultaneously if more than one drogue unit is fitted to the tanker aircraft, typically one pod fitted under each wing. A center-line HDU is also available and allows more fuel flow than wing pods. Drogue-equipped tankers can therefore have up to three refueling points.

The probe-and-drogue method allows aircraft not originally designed as tankers to be converted by attaching a refueling pod. The pod contains a drogue and hose reel. Where similar types of fighter ground-attack aircraft are pod-equipped (compared to large transport aircraft) this is known as "buddy tanking" or "buddy-buddy" refueling.

The probe-and-drogue system was first used in service on late models of the KB-29M Superfortress. Its first use in combat occurred on May 29, 1952 when twelve F-84s were refueled during a mission from Itazuke, Japan to Sariwon, North Korea. Also in the 1950s, the Royal Air Force converted two squadrons of Valiant bombers to the tanker role by mounting a Hose Drum Unit (HDU) in the bomb bay. These were 214 Squadron at Marham, operational in 1957, and 90 Squadron at Honingon, operational in 1958. In the 1960s the Valiant was replaced by Victor tankers that had up to three refueling points, one under the fuselage and a pod under each wing.

The probe-and drogue system is not compatible with flying boom equipment, and this is a problem for military planners where mixed forces are involved. For this reason, during the Gulf War of 1991, the USAF considered converting boom systems to probe-and-drogue.

Advancements in the probe and drogue system now allow a fuel flow comparable to the boom method. In some cases, such as the KC-135FR in service with the French Air Force, refueling-boom equipped tankers can be converted to an all probe-and-drogue system. The KC-135FR retains its articulated boom, but has a hose at the end of it instead of the usual nozzle.

Here a short hose is attached to a flying boom system and has a drogue on the end. In this system, the tanker boom operator (the "boomer") "flies" the boom into a position which experience has shown is optimal for the receiver aircraft. After the receiver pilot calls "contact" the boom operator starts the refueling. The receiver maintains his position during refueling, keeping an eye on the hose to make sure he remains in a suitable position. When fueling is complete, he slowly backs off until the probe refueling valve disconnects from the valve in the basket.

Some boom-carrying tankers have special hoses which can be attached before flight to the end of the boom to allow them to also refuel probe-equipped aircraft. Other tankers may have both a boom and one or more complete hose-and-drogue systems. Where these are attached to the wings, the system is known as the Multi-Point Refueling System or MPRS. The USAF KC-10 has both a flying boom and also a separate hose and drogue system by the Sargent Fletcher company. Both are on the aircraft centerline at the tail of the aircraft and so only one system can be used at once. However, such a system allows all types of probe- and receptacle-equipped aircraft to be refueled including large aircraft that are probe-equipped and do not have the maneuverability to take fuel from an off-centerline wing pod. Like the KC-135, some KC-10s are also equipped with dual under-wing hose-and-drogue attachments known as Wing Air Refueling Pods or WARPs.

In this method, similar to the probe and drogue method but more complicated, the tanker aircraft released a flexible hose from its wingtip. An aircraft, flying beside it, had to catch the hose with a special lock under its wingtip. After the hose was locked, and the connection was established, the fuel was pumped. It was used on a small number of Soviet Tu-4 and Tu-16 only (the tanker variant was Tu-16Z).

Some historic systems used for pioneering aerial refueling used the grappling method, where the tanker aircraft unreeled the fuel hose and the receiver aircraft would grapple the hose midair, reel it in and connect it so that fuel can be transferred either with the assistance of pumps or simply by gravity feed. This was the method used on the Question Mark endurance flight in 1929, and also the first ever non-stop around-the-world flight by Strategic Air Command's B-50 nuclear-capable bomber nicknamed the Lucky Lady II in 1949.

An F-15E Strike Eagle disengages from a KC-10 Extender
An F-15E Strike Eagle disengages from a KC-10 Extender

The development of the KC-97 and KC-135 Stratotankers was pushed by the Cold War requirement of the United States to be able to keep fleets of nuclear-armed B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers airborne around-the-clock either to threaten retaliation against a Soviet strike for mutual assured destruction, or to bomb the U.S.S.R. first had it been ordered to do so by the President. The bombers would fly orbits around their assigned positions from which they were to enter Soviet airspace if they received the order, and the tankers would refill the bombers' fuel tanks so that they could keep a force in the air 24 hours a day, and still have enough fuel to reach their targets in the Soviet Union. This also ensured that a first strike against the bombers' airfields could not obliterate the U.S.'s ability to retaliate by bomber. A noted example of refueling used in this manner in the movies can be seen in the opening credits of Dr. Strangelove.

In the UK, in 1958 Valiant tankers were developed with one HDU mounted in the bomb-bay. Valiant tankers were used to demonstrate radius of action by refueling a Valiant bomber non-stop from UK to Singapore in 1960 and a Vulcan bomber to Australia in 1961. Other UK exercises involving refueling from Valiant tankers included Javelin and Lightning fighters, also Vulcan and Victor bombers. For instance, in 1962 a squadron of Javelin air defense aircraft was refueled in stages from the UK to India and back (exercise "Shiksha"). After the retirement of the Valiant in 1965, the Handley Page Victor took over the UK refueling role and had three hoses (HDUs). These were a fuselage-mounted HDU and a refueling pod on each wing. The center hose could refuel any probe-equipped aircraft, the wing pods could refuel the more maneuverable fighter/ground attack types.

A byproduct of this development effort and the building of large numbers of tankers was that these tankers were also available to refuel cargo aircraft, fighter aircraft, and ground attack aircraft, in addition to bombers, for ferrying to distant theaters of operations. This was much used during the Vietnam War, when many aircraft could not have covered the transoceanic distances without aerial refueling, even with intermediate bases in Hawaii and Okinawa. In addition to allowing the transport of the aircraft themselves, the cargo aircraft could also carry matériel, supplies, and personnel to Vietnam without landing to refuel. KC-135s were also frequently used for refueling of air combat missions from air bases in Thailand.

The USAF SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft made frequent use of air-to-air refueling. Its home base was at Beale AFB in central California, but to make actual reconnaissance missions over enemy territory, it was necessary to deploy the craft to forward bases in Okinawa or in Europe. Hence, there were lots of trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic flights. Also, for safe takeoff performance, it was necessary for the SR-71 to take off with less-than-full fuel tanks. The SR-71 would then rendezvous with a specially modified KC-135 to top up its tanks. Then the SR-71 was capable of flying for many hours on its own. This tanker variant was necessary because the SR-71 used a special fuel, JP-7, with a very high flash point (needed to withstand the high skin temperatures of Mach 3+ cruising flight) which could not be used in other aircraft engines and the KC-135Q was equipped with a separate internal bladder system to carry and deliver this non-standard fuel.

A KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, California, refuels an F-22 Raptor
A KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, California, refuels an F-22 Raptor

The capability of refueling after takeoff conveys two considerable tactical advantages to those forces with access to tankers. It allows attack aircraft, fighters, and bombers to reach distances they could not without refueling, and patrol aircraft to remain airborne longer. Additionally, since an aircraft's maximum takeoff weight is generally less than the maximum weight with which it can stay airborne, this allows an aircraft to take off with only a partial fuel load, and carry additional payload weight instead. Then, after reaching altitude, the aircraft's tanks can be topped up by a tanker, bringing it up to its maximum flight weight.

During the Vietnam War, it was common for USAF fighter-bombers flying from Thailand to North Vietnam to refuel from KC-135s en-route to their target. Besides extending their range, this enabled the F-105s and F-4 Phantoms to carry more bombs and rockets. Tankers were also available for refueling on the way back if necessary. In addition to ferrying aircraft across the Pacific Ocean, aerial refueling made it possible for battle damaged fighters, with heavily leaking fuel tanks, to hook up to the tankers and let the tanker feed its engine(s) until the point where they could glide to the base and land. This saved numerous aircraft.

The US Navy frequently used carrier-based aerial tankers like the KA-3 Skywarrior to refuel Navy and Marine aircraft such as the F-4, A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder, and A-7 Corsair II. This was particularly useful when a pilot returning from an airstrike was having difficulty landing and was running low on jet fuel. This gave him fuel for more attempts at landing for a successful "trap" on an aircraft carrier. The KA-3 could also refuel fighters on extended Combat Air Patrol and E-2 Hawkeye Airborne Electronic Warning aircraft on extended patrol. USMC jets based in South Vietnam and Thailand also used USMC KC-130 Hercules transports for air-to-air refueling on missions.

During the Falklands War, aerial refueling played a vital role in all of the Argentine successful attacks against the Royal Navy. The Argentine Air Force had only 2 KC-130H Hercules available and they were used to refuel both Air Force and Navy A-4 Skyhawks and Navy Super Etendards in their Exocet strikes. The Hercules on several occasions approached the islands (where the Sea Harriers were in patrol) to search and guide the A-4s in their returning flights. On one of those flights (callsign Jaguar) one of the KC-130s went to rescue a damaged A-4 and delivered 39,000 lb of fuel while carrying it to its airfield at San Julian. On the other hand, the Mirage IIIs and Daggers lack of air refueling capability prevented them from achieving better results. The Mirages were unable to reach the islands with a strike payload, and the Daggers could do so only for a 5 minute strike flight.

On the British side, air refueling was carried out by the Handley Page Victor K.2 and after the Argentine surrender by modified C-130 Hercules tankers. These aircraft aided deployments from the UK to the Ascension Island staging post in the Atlantic and further deployments south of bomber, transport and maritime patrol aircraft. The most famous refueling missions were the "Operation Black Buck" sorties which involved 14 Victor tankers refueling single Avro Vulcan bombers to attack the Argentine-captured airfield at Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands. They attempted to knock out the Port Stanley runway, blocking the Argentine C-130 Hercules re-enforcement operations. The raids were the longest-range bombing raids in history until surpassed by the B-52 in the 1991 Gulf War and later B-2 flights.

The Victor tankers, retired in 1993, were replaced in RAF service by Lockheed L-1011 and Vickers VC10 transports which were bought second-hand and fitted as tankers. The L-1011s, converted by Marshall Aerospace, and VC10s, converted by British Aerospace, can refuel any aircraft fitted with the NATO standard probe system.

During Operation El Dorado Canyon, several F-111 Aardvark fighter-bombers stationed in the United Kingdom utilized aerial refueling to enable them to operate non-stop against targets in Libya. Since the aircraft were allowed to cross neither French nor Spanish airspace, they had to make a detour around the Iberian Peninsula and stay above International waters during all transit.

F-14 Tomcats from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf await their turn refueling from a KC-10A over Iraq during Desert Storm.
F-14 Tomcats from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf await their turn refueling from a KC-10A over Iraq during Desert Storm.

During the time of Operation Desert Shield, the military build up to the Persian Gulf War, US Air Force KC-135s, McDonnell Douglas KC-10As, and USMC KC-130 Hercules aircraft were deployed to forward air bases in England, Diego Garcia, and Saudi Arabia. Aircraft stationed in Saudi Arabia normally maintained an orbit in the Iraq-Saudi Arabia neutral zone, informally known as "Frisbee", and refueled Coalition Aircraft whenever necessary. Two side by side tracks over central Saudi Arabia called "Prune" and "Raisin" featured 2-4 basket equipped KC-135 tankers each and were used by Navy aircraft from the Red Sea Battle Force. Large Navy strike groups from the Red Sea would send A-6 tankers to the Prune and Raisin tracks ahead of the strike aircraft arriving to top off and take up station to the right of the tankers thereby providing an additional tanking point. RAF VC-10 tankers were also used to refuel coalition aircraft and were popular for their docile basket behavior and having three point refuelling stations. An additional track was maintained close to the northwest border for the EA-3 ELINT aircraft and any Navy aircraft needing emergency fuel. These 24-hour air-refueling zone helped make the intense air campaign during Operation Desert Storm possible. An additional 24/7 tanker presence was maintained over the Red Sea itself to refuel Navy F-14 Tomcats maintaining Combat Air Patrol tracks. During the last week of the conflict, KC-10 tankers moved inside Iraq to support barrier CAP missions set up to block Iraqi fighters from escaping to Iran.

On January 16-17 1991, the first combat sortie of Desert Storm, and the longest combat sortie in history, at that time, was launched from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. Seven B-52Gs flew a thirty-five hour mission to the Persian Gulf region, and back, to launch Boeing Air Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCMs) with the surprise use of conventional warheads. All of this was made possible by in-flight refueling, and by the secret switch away from nuclear warheads on the ALCMs.

An extremely useful aerial tanker in Desert Storm was the USAF KC-10A Extender. Besides being larger than the other tankers, the KC-10A is equipped with the USAF "boom" refueling and also the "hose-and-drogue" system. This makes it possible for the KC-10A to refuel USAF aircraft, and also USMC and US Navy jets that use the "probe-and-drogue" system, and also allied aircraft, such as those from the UK and Saudi Arabia. KC-135s may be equipped with a drogue depending on the mission profile.

The KC-10A was originally designed for the support of NATO in Europe by the USAF. In the case of armed conflict, with a full jet fuel load, the KC-10A is capable of flying from a base on the east coast of the US or Canada, flying nonstop to Europe, transferring a considerable amount of fuel in air-to-air refueling, and then returning to its home base, all without landing anywhere. This could have been very useful in the case when numerous European bases become disabled by Warsaw Pact strikes in Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Great Britain.

The USAF provided nearly 90 percent of the NATO tanker force, 112 active and 63 Reserve-component KC-135 and KC-10 tankers.[4] Tankers were also provided from Britain’s RAF (Tristars and VC-10s), French Air Force and Turkish Air Force KC-135s, Spanish Air Force KC-130 Hercules and Royal Netherlands Air Force KDC-10s. Although some European nations provided air-refuelling aircraft, the conflict highlighted the problem Europe has with a lack of such aircraft and dependence on the United States for tanker support during a major operation. Some European nations sought to address this lack of capability, such as the Italian Air Force purchase of the Boeing KC-767, but there is still a huge difference in air-refuelling capability between the US and Europe.

In 2003 the U.S. Air Force and Far Technologies applied secretly for patents on mid-air rearming of aircraft. The technique proposed is similar in many respects to airborne refueling, with a number of notable modifications. The air borne rearming system comprises a rearming plane with an internal bomb storage area and loading device consisting of a large aft door and a modified remote-driven robotic arm (boom) equipped with a day-night camera as well as sensors. On the attack aircraft, a special pylon to receive the arms from the boom. At present financial and technological problems stand in the way of aerial rearming, mainly the need for an automatic system to perform the rearm currently under development for aerial refueling.[5]

raising a hose from ship
raising a hose from ship
hose connect and refueling
hose connect and refueling

A variation of aerial refueling is when a naval helicopter approaches a warship (not necessarily suited for landing operations) and receives fuel through the cabin while hovering.

Note: Alternatively, some helicopters equipped with a probe extending out the front can be refueled from a drogue-equipped tanker aircraft in a similar manner to fixed-wing aircraft by matching a high forward speed for a helicopter to a slow speed for the fixed-wing tanker. Therefore a less ambiguous meaning for the abbreviation HIFR would be HOVER In-Flight Refueling.

Note also: The transfer of cargo while an aircraft is hovering is known within the US Navy and the United States Coast Guard as VERTREP.

A B-2 Spirit prepares to refuel from a KC-135R
A B-2 Spirit prepares to refuel from a KC-135R

An Australian Boeing 707 refueling a US Navy F/A-18 in 2002
An Australian Boeing 707 refueling a US Navy F/A-18 in 2002
German Luftwaffe Airbus A310 MRTT ready for refueling, shown at the Paris Air Show 2007
German Luftwaffe Airbus A310 MRTT ready for refueling, shown at the Paris Air Show 2007

  1. ^ Note AAR also stands for "After Action Review" (de-briefing) and in aviation, IFR also stands for "Instrument Flight Rules" (flight by instrument references only such as in cloud).
  2. ^ There is no indication that any relationship exists between A.D. Hunter and the Hunter brothers.
  3. ^ a b History of Aviation, Part 19, 1938
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ https://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/Publications/fulltext/75yrs_inflight_refueling.pdf

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