TARGET 150812

In-Flight Refueling of
The Stealth Bomber

Imagine yourself driving a flying filling station.



Imagine even further that every car that came into the gas station had to keep going full speed, and so your gas station had to synchronize speed with it.



Imagine further that as the car filled up with gas, your gas station got lighter and tried to rise in the air as the car got heaver and tried to sink in altitude. Yet, the two of you still had to keep pace, getting the gas nozzle - which no one is holding onto and the driver of the car can’t see, into the car's tank, and then keeping it there the whole time until the car's tank is full. Not an easy job, and it’s one that requires training, practice, and the amazing skill of pilots who are aces at their jobs.

Needless to say, the otherwise simple job of just refilling a gas tank, when done several thousand feet above the ground and at hundreds of miles per hour can be a daunting task. Where do they get these impossible ideas?



In the 3 minute video above, you see the full process, accomplished with military precision by members of the Utah Air National Guard members the 191st Air Refueling Squadron on Feb. 18, 2015.. The flying gas tank they are in is a KC-135 Stratotanker. A B-2 Spirit from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Missouri participated during this training mission.

(Filmed by SSgt Erin Mills, marked unclassified by the Utah National Guard Pulbic Affairs Office.)

If you got impressions for which this feedback is insufficient, more information,
pictures and videos can be found at the following web sites:

Source of the above video
YouTube (full history & information - (statistics at around 20 minutes)
Another video of the refueling process
A longer video (Turn the volume down before playing it)