Because those planes are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, such a mission would require a 30-plus hour round trip and support from numerous in-air refueling tankers.

Carlos Barria/REUTERS The build-up has included more fighters and, in the last 48 hours, moving air-to-air refueling tankers and an aircraft carrier battle group.

These aerial refueling missions are crucial for the Air Force's operations in Iran, enabling the continued maintenance of aerial superiority in the region, according to the military.

The Israel Air Force is set to receive a next-generation aerial refueling aircraft, the KC-46, the IDF said Wednesday. Since the beginning of the IDF's attacks on Iran as part of Operation Rising ...

The KC-135 Stratotanker is a U.S. Air Force (AF) refueling plane that can conduct missions around the world. It can fly distances of more than 11,000 miles and costs nearly $40 million to build.

Aircraft data captured by Flightradar24 from June 15-18, 2025, in Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, shows the U.S. Air Force repositioning a large number of tanker aircraft between the United ...

Air Force B-2 Spirt assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base receives fuel from a U.S. Air Force KC-135 assigned to the 185th Air Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard in the sky ...

The U.S. Air Force has deployed over 30 KC-135 and KC-46 aerial tankers across the Atlantic from bases in the United States, sparking widespread speculation about their role in the ongoing Israel ...

A short while ago, the IAF (Israeli Air Force) struck an Iranian aerial refuelling aircraft at Mashhad airport in eastern Iran, approximately 2,300 kilometers (1,430) from Israel ...

Blasts have been heard in Tehran and sirens have sounded in Israel as US president convenes National Security Council.

A video circulating on social media appears to show an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet being refueled mid-air by a Boeing 707 tanker over Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, reportedly during the return ...

Lt. Col. Brian Seymour was removed from command of the 71st Student Squadron on Thursday, June 12, the Air Force said, less than a month after he took over the unit. “Lt. Col. Brian Seymour was ...