Exercise Ravitaillement en Vol brought together a U.S. Air Force TC-135 training aircraft, a Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint and a French Air and Space Force A330 MRTT Phénix. The activity demonstrated how the three NATO members can integrate aircraft, crews and supporting personnel around a common air-to-air refueling mission.
For the U.S. Air Force’s 55th Wing, the new tanker option expands the operational reach and flexibility of the RC-135 fleet across multiple theaters. Greater access to allied refueling aircraft can extend time on station and give commanders more options when mission requirements change.
Personnel from the 55th Wing, 55th Operations Group and Nebraska Air National Guard’s 170th Group worked alongside the RAF’s 51 and 56 squadrons and France’s 31st Air Refueling and Strategic Transport Wing. The multinational team conducted joint planning, simulator training, mission briefings and live refueling sorties before completing the key mission over France.
The integration extended beyond technical compatibility between tanker and receiver aircraft. U.S., U.K. and French planners also coordinated diplomatic clearances, procedures, communications, command relationships, airspace requirements and emergency actions.
The mission built on testing conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in October 2023 between a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A and a U.S. Air Force RC-135. Similarities between the Australian KC-30A and the French A330 MRTT Phénix allowed planners to apply data and lessons from the earlier test to the French integration.
The broader tanker network is intended to reduce reliance on any single country, tanker fleet or operating location for RC-135 missions. That distributed support structure can help U.S. and British aircraft sustain intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance coverage when tanker availability or operating access is constrained.
The U.S. Air Force said additional tanker capacity could extend RC-135 time on station along NATO’s eastern flank. The same integration could increase ISR reach, endurance and responsiveness in the Indo-Pacific, where long operating distances shape air operations.
The arrangement also creates more opportunities for RC-135 crews to train with allied refueling aircraft in different regions. For the RAF, access to French and other partner tankers could support crew development and provide more flexibility in maintaining advanced qualifications.
The three countries can now use lessons from Ravitaillement en Vol to refine common tactics, techniques and procedures for future missions. The U.S. Air Force said repeated integration should reduce friction and shorten the transition from multinational coordination to operational execution.
For the RC-135 enterprise, the mission expands the network of tankers available to support long-range and persistent ISR operations. For NATO, it demonstrated how separate national capabilities can be combined into a more distributed and mutually supporting operational structure.
