Secrets of the F-14 Tomcat: Inflight Refueling

Ward reviews the details of inflight refueling in the F-14 including the difference between mobility tanking and mission tanking within the carrier air wing. He also goes over the flow of Operation Southern Watch missions, the patrolling of the no-fly zone over Southern Iraq and how Air Force tankers made double and triple cycle sorties possible. He also talks about how pilots preferred tanking off of the KC-10 over the KC-135 because the 135’s hose and drogue lacked a take-up reel and therefore was much less forgiving for the receiving aircraft. It wasn’t unusual to damage a probe tip or even have the entire probe come off if a pilot deviated beyond the limits of the hose. Finally, Ward explores the “brave new world“ of the MQ-25 “Stingray,“ the unmanned tanker that will be introduced to carrier air wings in a few years.