MIHAIL KOGĂLNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania -- U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers from the 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas participated in hot-pit refueling at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Romania as part of German Air Defender 23, June 12, 2023.
Hot-pit refueling allows aircraft to stay in the air longer, providing fuel to the fight and minimizing time on the ground. These exercises increase U.S. and partner nation’s ability to generate and sustain combat airpower throughout the European theater.
“Hot-pits provide us the chance to exercise the agile combat employment concept,” said Capt. Joshua Dvorak, bomber task force liaison officer. “They allow us to land and relaunch quickly and enables a lot of flexibility within various theaters.”
Interoperability does not always require common military equipment. The most important thing is that each nation’s equipment can share common facilities and can connect, communicate and exchange services with other equipment.
The current Bomber Task Force has been operating out of RAF Fairford since late May, and have participated in exercises Vanguard Hawk, Fortress Salvatore, Viking Trident, and Arctic Challenge.
Imagery of the Bomber Task Force is publicly available through Defense Visual Information Distribution Service at https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/bombertaskforceeurope.
For more information on U.S. forces Bomber Task Force, please contact U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa Public Affairs via email at usafepao.pao@us.af.mil.