RAAF, USAF C-17s practice flying U.S. Army paratroopers non-stop from Alaska to Australia

Five U.S. Air Force C-17s and two Royal Australian Air Force C-17s help move almost 450 U.S. Army paratroopers non-stop from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, to Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Australia on Jul. 8 as part of Talisman Sabre 15.

RAAF C-17 Globemaster A41-209 during an exercise in 2014
By Senior Airman Patrick Evenson [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

To allow for a non-stop flight, four KC-10 Extenders from Travis Air Force Base, California, and three KC-10s from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, created an air bridge in the skies above the Pacific, delivering 804,000 pounds of fuel.

[thumb]http://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/tabid/5693/Article/608764/us-royal-australian-air-forces-non-stop-c2-mission-from-alaska-to-australia.aspx[/thumb]