Omega Air Refueling Tests Out Services on Falcons During Commando Sling 2023

The US Air Force recently used a commercial air refueler for the first time with a flight of F-16's near Singapore, bearing out the possibility of future reliance on privately-owned air tankers.

F-16s from Osan Air Base refueled from a KDC-10 tanker operated by Omega Aerial Refueling services during Commando Sling 23, expanding the roster of airframes that have taken advantage of the firm's fueling capabilities. Omega's purchase of the older Boeing 707-based tankers was once a pie-in-the-sky swing at a fuzzy dream of providing contracted refueling to US forces around the world - right down to retaining all the hookups used in American aircraft.

That decision may have seemed strange in 2019, given the US government's position as the world's largest tanker fleet operator, but the combined forces do a lot of flying and Omega may be right on the money. In the past, the Navy and USMC have been known to tap in external refueling contractors with some regularity, given their more limited fleet size in comparison to the Air Force. But now, even they're getting in on the action. So far, Omega has refueled F-16s, E-3s, and RC-135s, and continuing exercises will soon see them add the F-15 and F-22 to that list.

During the exercise, an Omega KDC-10 hauled more than 40 passengers attending the event, with 4 pallet positions' worth of cargo along and a fresh load of fuel. The proof-of-concept mission was a "pivotal achievement" for the USAF, since it demonstrates a "key capability the Air Force can continue to leverage enabling a surge in exercises while simultaneously maintaining immediate mission readiness."

“If we can use commercial air refueling to cover the point A to point B movements for exercise participation across unit readiness training, then it frees up our warfighter tanker fleet to be ready to respond for emerging contingency requirements,” said Lt. Col. Curtis Holtman. The Pacific Air Mobility Ops Chief knows how helpful it can be to tag in some outside help when in-house tankers are already assigned elsewhere. “This is another mechanism that we can leverage to increase our warfighter readiness.”

FMI: www.omegaairrefueling.com