A KC-135 Aerial Refueler Was Seen Covered in Holes. It’s Back in the Sky.

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The aerial tanker is likely to remain in the United States for long-term repairs—but the on-site patch-up to keep it airworthy for the return trip is an accomplishment in itself.

A KC-135R was recently spotted at RAF Mildenhall, an airbase in the United Kingdom used by the US Air Force, covered in patchwork repairs after taking a large amount of shrapnel damage ranging from its nose to its tail. After spending a day at the RAF base, the Stratotanker departed across the Atlantic, eventually arriving at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, where it has remained since.

Despite the damage, the tanker swiftly returned to the air—highlighting the urgent need for enablement aircraft like aerial tankers during a conflict like Operation Epic Fury.

The origin of the damage to the KC-135 was probably the Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Iran executed a long-range strike against that airbase in mid-March, reportedly damaging five US tanker aircraft on the ground. The full extent of the damage remains unclear; satellite imagery of the incident has been limited, and is too low-resolution to offer more than a rough view of the damage to the aircraft. In other words, some of the aircraft might appear operationally intact from the........

© The National Interest