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Posted on 03/12/2026 2:56:40 PM PDT by rdl6989
TAMPA, Fla. -- U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.
This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at centcom.mil ...
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Perhaps it was due to DEI ?
Ouch, a mid-air?
Might have been who knows, they said it was NOT friendly fire, no drone strike, no missile strike or anything like that
It sure sounds like a collision while refueling.
God’s mercy please for all affected.
“Perhaps it was due to DEI ?”
Without a doubt. Hopefully Hegseth can put an end to this crap ONCE AND FOR ALL.
I'm amazed that doesn't happen more often ... it's one of the more difficult tasks in aviation ... and out guys/gals make it look easy.
Hopefully whoever was on it got out, how many people can be on board on one of those things?
Per wikipedia they have a crew of three usually.
Damn I hope they all got out
Neutral fire? Accident?
Not looking good.....God bless the crew.
The KC-135 Stratotanker does not have conventional “escape routes” such as ejection seats for its crew in the event of severe damage in action. Instead, survivability relies on the aircraft’s high durability, defensive countermeasures, and, if necessary, emergency manual bailout procedures.
More info: Sometimes they have a navigator so there could have been four on board.
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/1529736/kc-135-stratotanker/
He used to say "whatever happens, it's always the boomer's fault"
That's a sign of how well trained our armed forces are.
https://www.afrc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/158487/air-force-pulls-parachutes-from-kc-135s/
With mid-air copulating, probable. Dangerous even in peacetime exercises.
God Bless crew and family.
I'm thinking either a B-1 or B-52 because of the sizeable impact risk to a KC-135's tail section. I'll speculate that a B-2's flight stability would be gravely affected by any collision with a KC-135.
“I’m amazed that doesn’t happen more often ... it’s one of the more difficult tasks in aviation ... and out guys/gals make it look easy.”
Indeed. There are a lot of midair refueling videos on X. It’s astonishing we can do that in the first place and even more astonishing that there aren’t more accidents. It’s a real testament to skill.
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