From KC-97 To KC-46: A Brief History Of US Air Force Tankers

While advanced fighter jets like the F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Lightning II, and the F-15 Strike Eagle may garner a lot of attention, these are little more than paperweights if they don’t have fuel. One of the great pillars of the US Air Force’s ability to project power around the world is its massive fleet of aerial tankers (the Air Force operates the two most common tankers in the world). Tankers massively extend the range fighter jets can operate and the amount of time they can spend over an area of interest.