Combat Aviator on MSN

F-22 KC-46 air refueling: Pilot & boom operator lessons

Aerial refueling is one of the most demanding and precise maneuvers in military aviation. Two aircraft traveling at hundreds ...
AOL

How boom operators aboard the US Air Force's flying gas stations keep their cool doing an 'inherently dangerous' job

Thousands of feet up and racing across the sky at hundreds of miles per hour, US Air Force tankers close to within just 12 feet of fighter jets to refuel them in flight, sometimes as little as 8 feet, ...
Combat Aviator on MSN

KC-46 & F-22 mishap: $10M air refueling errors exposed

Aerial refueling is one of the most demanding and dangerous maneuvers in military aviation — two aircraft flying in precise ...
Task & Purpose

A boom operator on an Air Force tanker earned two DFCs for combat flights

A boom operator on a KC-135 tanker earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses on recent combat missions, the Air Force confirmed this week, a rare double-award of the military’s top medal for flight.
Defense One

Embraer joins Northrop to devise autonomous boom system for KC-390 tanker

MELBOURNE, Fla.—Brazilian aerospace giant Embraer is teaming up with Northrop Grumman to develop what could be the Air Force’s next tanker—and promises to spend a half-billion-dollars on ...