American air tanker fuels Malaysian Russian jets in historic first
The American KC-135 Stratotanker has refuelled Russian Su-30MKM fighters in flight for the first time in a public setting. These actions were carried out in a military partnership between the United States and Malaysia.
On 12 November 2024, at the RMAF Subang Air Base in Malaysia, there was a unique aerial refuelling operation in which the American KC-135 tanker belonging to the 141st Air Refueling Wing of the Washington Air National Guard refueled three Malaysian Su-30MKM fighters. This event marks the first publicly known instance of a USAF plane refuelling Russian Su-30 jets mid-flight.
Americans refuelled Russian aircraft
According to the U.S. Air Force, the collaboration with Malaysia, initiated in 2017, is designed to improve partners' interoperability and operational skills within the Indo-Pacific region. Activities like joint refueling operations bolster initiatives that utilize unique American strengths alongside those built through partnerships. The USAF emphasized that such efforts enable the effective use of strategic and cultural strengths to achieve mutual objectives in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to The Aviationist, the operation utilised the Multi-Point Refuelling System (MPRS), which allows refuelling of different types of aircraft thanks to two refuelling stations located on the wings. Malaysian Su-30s, like other aircraft from the US Navy and US Marine Corps, are equipped with an IFR probe, requiring hose refuelling, which differentiates them from USAF aircraft that use the boom system. It's worth noting that the boom is a rigid telescopic extension operated by the crew of the flying tanker.
The MPRS system on the KC-135 provides the capability to refuel in both boom and hose mode, making the tanker versatile and able to simultaneously serve different units. The KC-135, initially designed exclusively for boom refuelling, gained this capability in the 1990s during operations in Iraq, when the MPRS system facilitated efficient refuelling of many allied aircraft. The KC-135 has tanks that hold nearly 90,000 kilograms of aviation fuel.
