Air Force tankers will begin regular in-flight refueling drills by September with South Korean air force fighters, according to press reports. “The F-15K and KF-16, our two main air force fighters, are capable of refueling in mid air, but have never completed air-to-air refueling in our skies,” stated a South Korean military spokesman, reports airforce-technology.com. The bilateral exercises will take place every six months. A KC-135 from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron at Kadena AB, Japan, is slated to participate in the initial exchange. Given heightened tensions with North Korea, South Korean defense officials are keen to enhance the survivability and strike-response of aircraft by enabling them to remain airborne longer during crisis situations, reports UPI. South Korea has not announced any plans yet to acquire its own tanker fleet.
U.S. Space Command has established an internal planning team, dubbed Tasked Force Voyager, to spearhead logistics for the combatant command's relocation from Colorado to Alabama.
