Seventeen Republic F-84G Thunderjets, refueling from Boeing KC-97s, are flown nonstop 4,485 miles from Turner AFB, Ga., to RAF Lakenheath, UK, in what is, up to this point, the longest mass movement of fighter-bombers in history and the greatest distance ever flown by single engine jet fighters.
The KC-Z4, a blended wing body tanker concept being developed by startup JetZero, could fuel larger groups of aircraft at longer range to hold more targets at risk, company officials say.