Jordanian, American fighters refuel above Jordan

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chyenne A. Adams
  • Air Force Central Command Public Affairs
JORDAN --  Jordanian and American pilots recently met several thousand feet over Jordan where they exchanged knowledge and fuel.

An aircrew operating KC-10 Extender from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. refueled eight F-16 Fighting Falcons over Jordan as part of Falcon Air Meet 2010 -- a two-week exercise bringing service members from various countries together to share doctrine and procedures, strengthen relationships, and improve regional security.

Teams from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and the U.S. are participating in the exercise and competition. Four U.S. Air Force F-16s and four Jordanian Royal Air Force F-16s participated in the aerial refueling exercise.

"The Jordanian pilots are qualified for aerial refueling but don't generally get to practice that operation because they don't have a tanker in the fleet," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Jimmy Kolzow, a KC-10 mission commander. "Americans are as good as we are (at aerial refueling) because we have an exceptional support community between fighters and tankers, and we practice on a regular basis. It's wonderful to be able to provide that experience and training to our Jordanian counterparts and cementing our relationship with these fellow pilots and crews."

All the personnel involved in the operation met a few days prior to the event to lay out the ground work for the refueling plan.

"The entire aerial refueling operation went very smoothly," Captain Kolzow said. "You could tell that was because all the participants really put time and effort into doing their homework and learning the overall game plan and procedures ahead of time."

During this particular mission, the plane carried approximately 140,000 pounds of fuel and each aircraft took on between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds of fuel.

"The tricky part is the connection," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Porter, a KC-10 boom operator. "A lot depends on the receiver and how well they fly into the pattern. As long as they stay straight and the weather is on our side, we can make a good connection. After that, the computer takes over and it's an amazingly efficient process."

The KC-10 is an advanced tanker with the primary mission of aerial refueling, built to provide increased global mobility for U.S. Armed Forces and allied countries.

That increased mobility has led members of this KC-10 crew to places they never quite imagined. The crew is currently working out of Marka Civil Airport, Jordan, and flying a 25-mile by 20-mile area over eastern Amman -- the countries' capital city, near the borders of Iraq and Saudi Arabia, said U.S. Air Force Capt. Steve Sager, a KC-10 aircraft commander.

Using either an advanced aerial refueling boom, or a hose and drogue centerline refueling system, the KC-10 can refuel a wide variety of U.S. and allied military aircraft.