A USAF refuelling boom operator from the 100th Air Refueling Wing’s 351st Air Refuelling Squadron on a KC-135 Stratotanker during NATO operations in the Adriatic in July 2022. This work should be easier with 3D visual systems on the new KC-46A aircraft

A KC-46A Pegasus aerial refuelling aircraft connects with an F-15E Strike Eagle test aircraft from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in October 2018. The 418th Flight Test Squadron is conducting refuelling tests with the fighter at Edwards AFB in California

The installation of the removable probe enables the Millennium to receive fuel from a tanker and the underwing refuelling pods allows the Millennium to transfer fuel to other aircraft. The fuel offload and the operational range can be extended with the use of roll-on-roll-off fuel tanks

An artist’s impression of the LMXT boom as seen from the receiving aircraft. New A3R technology is designed to automate this process and reduce risk

An artist’s impression of the LMXT using the boom system to refuel an F-35A. A hose and drogue system can refuel two aircraft simultaneously, but the boom is more stable and can transfer fuel more quickly

KC-46A aircraft assigned to the 157th Air Refueling Wing perform an elephant walk formation on the runway at Pease Air National Guard Base in September 2021 for the first time since receiving the new airframes