KC-135s Surpass 100,000 Combat Hours | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.05.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.06.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.07.25

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.02.25

Mon, Jan 18, 2016

KC-135s Surpass 100,000 Combat Hours

More Than 14,700 Sorties Flown In 2015

The KC-135 Stratotanker fleet at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, flew more than 14,700 sorties in 2015 accumulating 103,419 combat hours in support of Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom’s Sentinel. “We provide refueling to every flying unit in the area of responsibility which is Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan and supported 12 coalition nations,” said Lt. Col. James Murray, the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron director of operations. “We support aircraft 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year so they can do their mission.”

Murray said over 60 KC-135s took part in achieving over 100,000 combat hours. Each KC-135 crew flies an average of seven hours a day and off-loads an average of 50,000 gallons of fuel per mission.

Murray said keeping an operations tempo of this magnitude is herculean. “Imagine 12 airplanes flying 24 hours a day, it’s incredible,” he said. “If we were not out there to give gas to all our receivers they we would have to fly shorter missions.”

Murray said the KC-135’s combat hour achievement was possible because of active-duty, Reserve and National Guard Airmen. “There are different Air Force components like active duty, Reserve and Air National Guard out here,” Murray said. “There are also different types of tankers on the ramp, with different modifications, so usually a new crew has to be trained or certified in everything that we have here at AUAB. Having an aircrew trained gives us the flexibility to go out and fly any tanker, and our squadron does internal training to make that happen.”

Senior Airman Timothy Weber, a 340th EARS boom operator, shared what it was like to be part of the combat hour milestone. “The tempo can become intense here,” Weber said. “You have to adapt because it’s busy and the environment is so dynamic. You can take off with a plan and it can change drastically when you are in the air, but it gets exciting and I get to see it happen right in front of me, I love flying.”

Murray said the 340th EARS surpassed 100,000 combat hours without realizing it because it happened faster than the unit anticipated.

The combat hour achievement is the result of various units at Al Udeid AB working together to make the mission happen, Murray said.

ANN Salutes Tech. Sgt. Terrica Y. Jones, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

(Images provided with USAF news release)

FMI: www.af.mil

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.06.25)

Aero Linx: International Federation of Airworthiness (IFA) We aim to be the most internationally respected independent authority on the subject of Airworthiness. IFA uniquely combi>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.06.25): Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF)

Ultrahigh Frequency (UHF) The frequency band between 300 and 3,000 MHz. The bank of radio frequencies used for military air/ground voice communications. In some instances this may >[...]

ANN FAQ: Q&A 101

A Few Questions AND Answers To Help You Get MORE Out of ANN! 1) I forgot my password. How do I find it? 1) Easy... click here and give us your e-mail address--we'll send it to you >[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Virtual Reality Painting--PPG Leverages Technology for Training

From 2019 (YouTube Edition): Learning To Paint Without Getting Any On Your Hands PPG's Aerospace Coatings Academy is a tool designed to teach everything one needs to know about all>[...]

Airborne 05.02.25: Joby Crewed Milestone, Diamond Club, Canadian Pilot Insurance

Also: Sustainable Aircraft Test Put Aside, More Falcon 9 Ops, Wyoming ANG Rescue, Oreo Cookie Into Orbit Joby Aviation has reason to celebrate, recently completing its first full t>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC