Posted on 10/29/2015 4:45:36 PM PDT by naturalman1975
AN Australian air force tanker jet has come to the rescue of a US F/A-18 Hornet experiencing difficulties over northern Iraq.
The RAAF KC-30A tanker was diverted to refuel the United States Marine Corps fighter after it experienced engine troubles during a combat mission against the Islamic State.
Australia has deployed six of its own Hornets along with the tanker and an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft to Iraq and Syria as part of an international coalition against the Islamic State.
Mechanical failure forced the US F/A-18 Hornet pilot to shut down one of its two engines..
This placed greater strain on its remaining engine â causing it to burn up more fuel than expected for its long journey home.
Refuelling the crippled aircraft posed a challenge.
âA challenging feat at the best of times, air-to-air refuelling with an engine-out Hornet had only ever been conducted in flight testing scenarios and never before from the RAAF aircraft over a war-zone,â a Department of Defense statement reads.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Also why it is nice to be good at your job.
That marine owes the tanker crew a cold one.
The prospect of hoofing it through ISIS occupied real estate is not a pleasant one.
Thanks Aussies, we got your back and you got ours, appreciate it.
Only an Aussie could say that with a straight face. :)
Thank God our pilot wasn’t in an F-35.. He might be in an ISIS video by now.
Good on ya, mates!
Thanks mate.
Cold ones all around to those who helped.
A more optimistic view is that an F-35 pilot won’t have to deal with the difficulties of refueling after shutting down an engine.
Thank God our pilot wasnât in an F-35.. He might be in an ISIS video by now.
Yeah, how do you spend 100s of billions of dollars on a new fighter and end up with a dual purpose (Air Force/Navy) plane with ONE engine?
Not being an airplane mechanic, I had to check Wikipedia to confirm what I suspected:
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole fighters
We can always rely on the folks Down Under.
Active Duty ping.
On Marine bases, the band plays “Waltzing Matilda” on its way to the flagpole for the morning flag raising ceremony. Since WWII there has been a close bond between Australians and US Marines.
That marine owes the tanker crew a cold one.
The prospect of hoofing it through ISIS occupied real estate is not a pleasant one.
For sure on both points.
You've got *that* right.But the Marine should be aware that only *Americans* drink Foster's.Those Aussies will settle for nothing less than Victoria Bitter! ;-)
If he had been upgraded to the F-35, he wouldn't have ever been put in a positions where he would have to shut down one of two engines.
Based on the A330.
When obammy finds out he'll find a way to dis the Aussies.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.