The air refueling took place in Somalia, and the video reveals that the method used for transferring fuel is a “Flying Boom.”
The air refueling took place in Somalia, and the video reveals that the method used for transferring fuel is a “Flying Boom.”
U.S Air Force KC-10 Extender assigned to the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron provided a U.S Marine Corps F-35B Lightning IIs with fuel as support to Operation Octave Quartz on January 5.
The air refueling took place in Somalia, a country in eastern Africa, and the video reveals that the method used for transferring fuel is a “Flying Boom.” The “Flying Boom” is a method that requires a dedicated operator who sits at the back of the tank and navigates a telescopic tube into a receptacle which is located near the front of the receiver plane. Both the plane should fly at the same speed.
The KC-10 Extender plays a key role in the mobilization of the US military assets, taking part in overseas operations. It also delivers a global reach aerial refueling capability to Joint Task Force-Quartz demonstrating the U.S military’s flexible, precise and lethal force that is capable of rapidly responding anywhere in the globe.
“The KC-10 can transport up to 75 people and nearly 170,000 pounds (76,560 kilograms) of cargo a distance of about 4,400 miles (7040 kilometers) unrefueled,” said the U.S. Force in a statement. “In addition to the three main DC-10 wing fuel tanks, the KC-10 has three large fuel tanks under the cargo floor, one under the forward cargo compartment. Combined, the capacity of the six tanks carries more than 356,000 pounds (160,200 kilograms) of fuel.”
The mission of Operation Octave Quartz (OOQ) is to reposition the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) forces in Somalia to other East Africa operating locations while maintaining pressure on violent extremists and supporting partner forces.
“I directed the activation of a joint task force, JTF-Quartz, built around the headquarters of Special Operations Command-Africa, to oversee Operation Octave Quartz, the directed repositioning of U.S. forces from Somalia to other bases in East Africa,” said U.S Army General, Stephen Townsend in a press statement.
He traveled to East Africa from December 14-17 and met with U.S commanders and forces supporting the mission and operations in East Africa.
“To be clear, the U.S is not withdrawing or disengaging from East Africa,” said Townsend. “We remain committed to helping our African partners build a more secure future.”
These aircrafts performed aerial refueling during the 1986 bombing of Libya, 1990 to 1991 Gulf War with Iraq, the NATO (The North-Atlantic Treaty Organization) bombing of Yugoslavia, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The main aim of aerial refueling is to extend the range of an aircraft, it also saves time because the aircraft does not have to land to refuel. It also benefits aircraft operating on short runways, which have to limit their takeoff weight to be able to clear the end of the runway.
(Edited by Gaurab Dasgupta and Megha Virendra Choudhary)
