Days after being in the limelight for refueling the 6th-generation B-21 Bomber, a US KC-135 refueling tanker has crashed in western Iraq, while a second aircraft involved in the mishap landed safely.
“One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, the US military said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Iran claimed that an allied group in Iraq had downed the aircraft with a missile, killing all its crew.
The KC-135 incident is at least the fourth setback for the US military, which earlier lost three F-15E Strike Eagles in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait.
KC-135s generally have a crew of three — a pilot, a copilot, and a third who operates the boom used to refuel other aircraft.
The KC-135 provides the core aerial refueling capability for the USAF. This unique aircraft enhances the USAF’s global reach mission. It also provides aerial refueling support to the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and aircraft of allied nations.
Four turbofans, mounted under 35-degree swept wings, power the KC-135 to takeoffs at gross weights of up to 322,500 pounds. A cargo deck above the refueling system can hold a mixed load of passengers and cargo. The KC-135 can carry up to 83,000 pounds of cargo.
Almost all internal fuel can be pumped through the flying boom. One crew member, known as the boom operator, is deployed at the rear of the plane and controls the boom during in-flight air refueling.
A special shuttlecock-shaped drogue attached to and trailing behind the flying boom may be used to refuel aircraft fitted with probes. Some aircraft have been configured with the multipoint refueling system, which consists of special pods mounted on the wingtips. These KC-135s can refuel two receiver aircraft simultaneously.
KC-135 in Limelight
Recently, a next-gen B-21 stealth bomber prototype was spotted performing aerial refuelling from a KC-135R Stratotanker over the Mojave Desert on March 10.
Several plane spotters captured stunning images of the prototype behind the specially equipped refuelling tanker, which is believed to be based out of Edwards Air Force Base (AFB).
The B-21 Raider was photographed during an aerial refueling operation — a key milestone in its flight test campaign — with the customary F-16 Fighting Falcon serving as the chase plane. Notably, the stealth bomber was also joined by an unidentified business jet, which may have supported comprehensive data collection or acted as a specialized test asset. Reports indicate the sortie exceeded 5 hours.
These exclusive, one-of-a-kind photographs capture the historic first-ever aerial refueling of a B-21 Raider prototype by KC-135 — a critical moment in the stealth bomber’s rigorous flight-test program.
The images have been hailed as historic, as they show the B-21 prototype, which has an air-data boom on its nose, successfully attaching to an archaic KC-135 tanker.
Interestingly, the archaic KC-135 is still operating and refuelling a futuristic bomber.
“Gramps out here still flying 70 years later and refuelling the newest kid,” a military blogger who goes by the name ‘Doha’ on X wrote in a post. The account also noted that the visuals provide a decent view of the aircraft’s Internal Weapons Bay.
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