A U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) F/A-18C on a combat mission against ISIL over northern Iraq encountered engine trouble and the pilot was forced to shut down one engine. Short on fuel, the Hornet requested air-to-air refueling support from a RAAF KC-30A.
File picture from Australia Department of Defence
Although refueling a Hornet running on one engine had been done before, it was carried out during flight testing and certainly never before over a war zone.
Without one of its two engine, the Marine pilot had trouble maintaining the speed and altitude required for refueling. He also had to deal with having bombs still attached to one of the wings.
Both crew had two options and they decided to do the mid-air refueling at a lower speed that has never been done by the KC-30A crew.
The aircraft’s captain, Squadron Leader Jamie, said the figher pilot “did a great job in the end.”
“If we hadn’t been able to assist, he would certainly have had to make a less than ideal landing in Iraq.”