171st Tanker Leads the Way

Photo By Staff Sgt. Peter Reft | U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing five F/A-18 Super Hornets, Marine Corps Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 F-35 Lightning IIs, all assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, and a U.S. Air Force 37th Bomb Squadron B-1B Lancer assigned to Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., conduct a large-scale joint and bilateral integration training exercise Aug. 18, 2020. Four B-1B Lancers, two B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers, and four F-15C Eagles conducted Bomber Task Force missions simultaneously within the Indo-Pacific region over the course of 24 hours. Pacific Air Forces routinely conducts BTF operations to show the United States’ commitment to allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Reft)  

CORAOPOLIS, PA, UNITED STATES

08.28.2020

Story by Senior Airman Zoe Wockenfuss 

171st Air Refueling Wing

It was just a normal day for the KC-135 Stratotanker crew. A routine air refueling mission? It was a little more than that. On Aug. 17, 2020 the 171st Air Refueling Wing provided 100 thousand pounds of fuel to a B-1B Lancer from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.

The tanker from Pittsburgh was the lead jet in a 4-ship formation, the others were from MacDill Air Force Base, Fairchild AFB and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Each tanker refueled a Lancer. The bombers were on their way to the East Sea to meet up with the Koku Jieitai, or Japan Air Self-Defense Force, for routine interoperability training.

While there, they conducted training together that further strengthened the allied partnership. Together four B-1B Lancers, two B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers, four F-15C Eagles conducted Bomber Task Force missions within the Indo-Pacific region over the course of 24 hours. This demonstrated the readiness to deliver wide-range support in a moment’s notice.

• Date Taken: 08.28.2020
• Date Posted: 08.28.2020 10:19
• Story ID: 377006
• Location: CORAOPOLIS, PA, US