US Air Force tests F-35 low-altitude refuelling

An F-35 recently took on fuel while flying at 5,000ft, well below the previous restriction of 10,000ft.

The US Air Force is working to expand the capabilities of its stealth Lockheed Martin F-35A strike fighters to include in-flight refuelling at lower altitudes.

The Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC) says it is conducting flight tests in an effort to permit F-35As to take on fuel below the current hard deck of 10,000ft.

“The F-35A is the only fighter in the air force inventory restricted from air refuelling below 10,000ft,” the AATC said on 29 September. “Evolving tactics call for refuelling at lower altitudes to increase survivability and lethality, and pilots need to train that way before they execute it in combat.”

During one recent test flight over the Gulf of Mexico, a Boeing KC-135 transferred fuel to an F-35A flying as low as 5,000ft, which the AATC describes as a first for the fifth-generation stealth fighter. That sortie was conducted in partnership with the air force’s Air Combat Command and the F-35 Joint Program Office, which manages procurement and modernisation efforts for all F-35 operators worldwide.

The AATC describes the 5,000ft tanking as the first phase of a planned test campaign.

“Follow-on test phases will build on these results to expand the F-35A refuelling envelope and put this capability in the hands of operational pilots,” the centre says.

Notably, the AATC says it accomplished the low-altitude refuelling test within seven months of receiving the requirement.

The test centre achieved a similar feat earlier this year when it developed and certified a new aerial refuelling probe for the Fairchild Republic A-10 attack jet in a matter of weeks.

Previously, the A-10 was only able to take on fuel from KC-135s owing to longstanding engineering issues with the fuel transfer boom aboard the Boeing KC-46, which is too stiff to function effectively with the lightweight A-10.

The nose-mounted probe allows the A-10 to top-off using the probe-and-drogue method favoured by the US Navy and US Marine Corps.

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