The talks on the acquisition of air tankers are the main point of the visit of the Ministry of Defence delegation in Spain yesterday. “This is simply a extremist complement to the capabilities of F-35 aircraft,” said Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish. Why is the acquisition of MRTT aircraft so crucial to the air force and how is the air refuelling procedure progressing?
First you gotta intercept the tanker, then virtually slip under its stomach, keep a steady distance and velocity – filling up the fuel in the air is simply a demanding procedure, although as pilots admit, the emotions associated with it rapidly descend. Especially if you practice regularly.
Airbus A330 MRTT took off from France. It flew into Polish airspace, reached the indicated region and began to circulate. Soon, F-16 aircraft from 31th Tactical Aviation Base appeared on Poznań Krzesiny. They've replenished the fuel and... they've moved on to their next assignments. A fewer hours later, they returned to the home airport. By this time, the Airbus crew was already en way to France. This was how 1 of the many exercises of the air force of both countries took place.
Word from Boomer
– We train in the air regularly, sometimes even respective times in a month. Each pilot has to rehearse this procedure at least erstwhile all six months – explains Colonel Łukasz Gradziński, commander of the 31st BLT. And that Poland does not have its own tankers, it is based on allies – primarily Americans and French. “In fresh years, we have been working together peculiarly well with the others,” said Colonel Gradziński. Reason? utilized by the French Airbus A330 can refuel fighter aircraft in 2 ways: utilizing both flexible wire and rigid probe. Rafale and Mirage fighters, which are part of the French Air Force, only usage the first method. So if the tanker crew wants to practice the second of the procedures, they request to contact allies. Like pilots of Polish Hawks. And that's what happens.
What's the refueling look like? It's a very precise job. It is adequate to mention that the socket to which the tube must be drawn from the tanker has a diameter of only 10 cm. After all, everything takes place in motion, at comparatively advanced speeds – emphasizes St. Chor. Grzegorz Jung, who in 31 BLT serves as an older multitasking aircraft key technique. It's his subordinates who are preparing the F-16 to fly. Together with pilots, they shall check the operation of all systems, including those related to fuel replenishment, if specified a procedure is in mission plans.
The Hawks usually fly the full group for refueling exercises. erstwhile the pilots choice up the machines, they gotta first track the tanker. The guidance tracker gives us his position. Upon reaching the indicated zone, we intercept this plane and contact the alleged boomer. He's a crew associate liable for the fuel transfer operation. From this minute on, he will lead us, as described by Colonel Wojciech Kieczur, commander of the 6th Air Force.
The group takes positions to the left of the tanker. Soon, the first pilot in line will begin the final phase of preparation for fuel consumption. – Opens the inlet of fuel and balances the aircraft to keep a unchangeable position. He then separates from the group and moves towards the tanker – explains Colonel Pil. Gradziński. The procedure usually takes place at an altitude of 20–25,000 feet, or 6–7.5 1000 metres above the ground, and the flying tanker moves at a velocity of about 300 century, in another words, about 550 km/h. – The approach velocity itself is low – it is only a fewer knots. It looks a bit like you're virtually walking towards the another plane, and then you halt at the indicated place," noted Colonel Gradziński. At this point, the velocity of both machines is equalized. Boomer inserts the probe into the fuel inlet, which is located at the top of the F-16 hull. We're starting to refuel.
FA-50 aircraft
The hawk can take £12,000 aboard, that's about 6 tons of fuel. “When we start to exercise, we have £2–3,000 in tanks, so we already charge about 9,000 in the air. In the case of cooperation with the A330, this takes about 2 minutes, according to commander 31 BLT.
During this time, the pilot looks at the position lights lit under the tanker's hull and besides listens to Boomer's commands. It besides corrects the location of its machine. The boomer itself besides operates with the dimension of the connector. After completion of the full F-16 process, it pulls distant from the tanker and takes its position on its right wing, waiting for another group aircraft. In their case, the procedure shall be repeated. erstwhile all the Hawks are fueled, they make a turn and fly for further tasks.
As Colonel Pill says. The cask, at first glance the refueling seems a very complicated operation, but it is not. – Although in order to scope specified a conclusion, 1 must get any practice. due to the fact that at first specified a flight can give the pilot a faster heartbeat... – he adds.
- Yeah.
– The flight, even short-lived, close to specified a large plane is impressive. That's why all young pilots are a small stressed. And they usually do the same thing: they compression the steering rod tight, they tighten the muscles... And here you request to relax, due to the fact that that is the only way to make the delicate and precise movements that this operation requires – noted Colonel Gradziński. And the colonel was drinking. The cask adds: – After a fewer flights, a twelve of the trematodes give way.
However, things get complicated erstwhile a plane needs to refuel at night. Here, as the airmen agree, the degree of difficulty increases significantly. – Initially, the pilots of the group fly in night imagination goggles, but before the tanking itself they must be taken off and approach the tanker, only following its position lights and boomer commands," explains Colonel Gradziński. The operation can be further hampered by bad weather – strong turbulence, fog, dense clouds that limit the visibility of the horizon. Then the pilot may experience visual delusions, although this is of course an utmost case.
– I scored my first refueling while inactive training in the USA, in 2012. How'd it go? I think it's good, although I remember the tension accompanying it and any square movements... – the colonel smiled. Since then, he has already participated in about a 100 akin operations, and so has Colonel Gradziński. As F-16 pilots, they worked not only with French A330 but besides with American machines – KC-10 or KC-135. They all disagree from each other, but the procedures associated with the filling, the lighting system, the fuel feeders are similar.
And that's what the pilot-instructors teach their younger colleagues. FA-50 and M346 aircraft, which train future F-16 pilots, have no way of replenishing fuel in the air. Therefore, for the first time these tasks are carried out by airmen only erstwhile they begin to service in the bases on Krzesins or in Grace. Meanwhile, the ability to refuel in flight is fundamental. These facilities are sometimes utilized by pilots of on-call couples who defender the sky over Poland. In fresh years, aircraft that are part of them are regularly picked up from airports, specified as in consequence to massive fire by Ukrainian cities or breaches of Polish airspace by drones from Russia. – specified a work in the air takes about 2 hours. The filling of the device in the air allows to extend it twice – admits Colonel Pił. Gradziński. Then the cooperation with the flying tanker is somewhat different than during the exercise, due to the fact that individual aircraft take part in it – erstwhile 1 collects fuel, the another continues to patrol. Then they switch.
So Poland is developing cooperation with allies, but... it is not going to halt there. respective years ago, the Ministry of Defence began to effort to buy air tankers. Eventually, the “Karkonosze” programme was included in the “Plan to Modernise the method Armed Forces for the period 2021–2035”. Among the options considered were the acquisition of Boeing KC-46A Pegasus or Airbus 330 MRTT. Finally, at the end of December 2025, Deputy Prime Minister, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that the acquisition of tankers would be financed from the EU SAFE programme. And that would mean choosing option number two.
