In a historic achievement, Metrea Strategic Mobility (MSM) has successfully provided commercial air-to-air refueling services to United States Air Force (USAF) aircraft for the first time. This significant milestone marks a new chapter in aerial refueling capabilities and underscores Metrea’s commitment to enhancing military aviation training and operations.
Photo: Metrea
The breakthrough occurred during exercise RESOLUTE HUNTER, where Metrea proudly supported the U.S. Air Force by delivering commercial air-to-air refueling to RC-135 and E-3 aircraft. Previously, commercial aerial refueling services were predominantly utilized by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps units, making this a groundbreaking moment for the Air Force.
Between Jun. 23 and Jun. 29, Metrea Strategic Mobility’s expert team conducted four aerial refueling support missions, resulting in 13 boom contacts and an offloaded fuel amounting to nearly 90,000 pounds. These operations not only provided crucial training opportunities for the RC-135 and E-3 crews but also allowed them to extend their participation in the RESOLUTE HUNTER exercise.
“This major milestone coincided with the 100th anniversary of aerial refueling, making it a truly fitting achievement,” stated Jon “Ty” Thomas, Head of Metrea’s Air and Space Group. He further emphasized the collaborative efforts between Metrea, NAVAIR, Air Combat Command, and the receiver RC-135 and E-3 units, which ensured the success of these groundbreaking refueling operations.
It is worth mentioning that this accomplishment builds upon Metrea’s previous record-setting event earlier this year. In April 2023, they achieved the first-ever commercial boom refueling of a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The four-hour training exercise off the coast of Florida saw two P-8 aircraft seamlessly refueled by a Metrea KC-135R, contributing to enhanced readiness and training of a front-line operational Navy unit.
Metrea Aerospace had acquired four former Republic of Singapore Air Force KC-135R aircraft to form this commercial aerial refueling tanker fleet back in 2020. These additions to Metrea’s portfolio further solidify the company’s commitment to meeting the aerial refueling requirements of their U.S. Government customers.
With the successful commercial refueling of both U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft, Metrea continues to pave the way for enhanced capabilities and collaboration between commercial and military entities. As they look towards the future, Metrea aims to expand their support to more US Air Force refueling requirements, as well as meeting the increasing demand from allied and partner nations.
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