Refueling

Recently published imagery confirms that the A-10C attack jet is now operating in the Middle East with its new refueling probe fitted, something that has been achieved remarkably fast. As we reported at the time, the Warthog’s probe-type aerial refueling capability was first demonstrated in early April, and the adaptation comes as the jet cruises into the twilight of its career after it got a small reprieve from final retirement.

The U.S. Air Force has released images showing an A-10C using its Probe Refueling Adapter to take on fuel from an HC-130J Combat King II earlier this month, somewhere in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility. The Warthogs in question belong to the 107th Fighter Squadron from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, which deployed to the Middle East in early April.

As we discussed in the past, the Probe Refueling Adapter could be of significant importance to the A-10 and the wider Air Force, during a future fight in the Pacific. Clearly, however, it is equally applicable to ongoing operations in the CENTCOM theater.

Indeed, the Air Force previously confirmed that the Probe Refueling Adapter effort was in response to an urgent combatant command requirement.

Adding the Probe Refueling Adapter is also relatively straightforward, since it makes use of the existing air refueling receptacle on the nose of the A-10. In turn, this means that the A-10 loses its regular nose-mounted receptacle.

As of April, the non-probe-equipped A-10 was only able to refuel from the KC-135, since the KC-10 had been retired, and the KC-46 was not yet certified to refuel the Warthog. This last issue is due to a long-running “stiff boom” problem, which runs the risk of damaging the receiving aircraft. The addition of the probe also means that the A-10s can now refuel from KC-46s too, which have a built in hose and drogue system, as well as a boom.

However, the A-10 can now take on fuel from Air Force HC-130s and MC-130s, or even Marine Corps KC-130s, as well as KC-130Js from other operators. Initial tests of the Probe Refueling Adapter involved an HC-130J from the 418th Flight Test Squadron.

These refuelers can operate from shorter runways and can offload fuel at very low altitudes, something the KC-135 is not able to do. Pairing the A-10 with these kinds of tankers, which can routinely operate from shorter fields and do so with far more flexibility, provides expanded aerial refueling flexibility for mission planners.

Working with the HC-130 and MC-130 is especially relevant for the A-10, bearing in mind its combat search and rescue ‘Sandy’ mission. This involves the jets providing escort and close air support for special operations helicopters working to retrieve personnel from highly contested territory. A-10s have flown this very mission over Iran. Already, HC-130s and MC-130s provide fuel to rotary-wing aircraft during these kinds of operations, and a probe-equipped A-10 would provide extended endurance and range in such scenarios.

The Probe Refueling Adapter also comes with a degree of flexibility. The Air Force describes it as “a field-configurable solution designed for installation by operational flight line personnel.”

“Units can install or remove the adapter in a matter of hours, allowing aircraft to be reconfigured between boom and probe refueling capability based on mission requirements,” the service says.

It is also notable that the Air Force imagery shows that the A-10s in CENTCOM are now also using the Angry Kitten electronic warfare pod.

The Angry Kitten had previously been test flown on the A-10, but had not been seen in an operational context. The store is also used operationally by Air Force F-16s and HC-130s and Navy F/A-18E/Fs. Angry Kitten was originally developed to replicate hostile electronic warfare threats during testing and training, as part of a cooperative effort between the Air Force and the Navy, but was so effective that it was adapted to operational use.

Using advanced Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) technology, Angry Kitten detects and ‘captures’ radio frequency (RF) signals. Those signals are then manipulated and retransmitted. For example, RF signals from an enemy air defense radar can be recorded and sent back in a way that creates false or otherwise confusing tracks. The same data can also be used for broader intelligence-gathering purposes. You can read more about the capabilities of the pod here.

As well as the Angry Kitten pod, the A-10C seen in the accompanying imagery carries a Litening targeting pod and a pair of 500-pound-series Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM).

Returning to the Probe Refueling Adapter, the A-10 is now putting it through its paces in an operational context in the Middle East.

But as we have discussed in the past, equipping A-10s and other combat jets with probes makes a good deal of sense for Pacific contingencies, too. They could also be operated alongside smaller tactical tankers, which could also play a very important role in that kind of conflict.

Simply put, the receptacle and boom mode of aerial refueling is optimized for plugging in at higher altitudes, for maximum efficiency and safety. However, in the Pacific, combat operations are likely to require fighters to take off with heavy loads from short runways, potentially battle-damaged ones, then immediately hook up to a tanker. Lower-level refueling using a probe is much more appropriate here and, indeed, is entirely in line with the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) strategy. This envisages fighters hopping from one austere forward airfield to another, keeping them close to the action, but farther away from the enemy’s strikes. Such airfields can also be accessed by standard C-130 transports, which can also help support tactical jets with spares, weapons, crews, etc.

There is also the fact that higher-level aerial refueling puts the tanker and receiver at higher risk of detection and engagement by the enemy. Aerial refueling assets, in particular, will be among the highest-priority targets for China in any confrontation in the Pacific. Indeed, there is a whole Chinese development thread focused on air defenses to engage aircraft like these, and other critical force-multipliers. Having refueling operations and tankers operate at a lower altitude puts them below the radar horizon, providing another layer of survivability, especially when working from islands closer to major target areas.

While the A-10 continues to evolve, the Air Force is still committed to its plans to retire the type for good before the end of the decade. For the time being, however, the Warthog is still in demand in combat theaters.

If the Probe Refueling Adapter concept could be extended to fighters like the F-16 and F-15, and potentially even future versions of the F-35A, these aircraft could rely more heavily on C-130 tankers, which are, at least in some cases, better suited to the ACE concept. Meanwhile, the larger KC-46s and KC-135s could operate somewhat further from the battlespace, including dragging tactical aircraft to and from the theater of operations, as well as supporting bombers and transports.

For some time now, the Air Force has also been looking at the possibility of acquiring the kinds of tankers that would be better suited to the kinds of mission likely to be encountered in the Pacific theater, albeit retaining the boom and receptacle method.

Now that the Probe Refueling Adapter is being proven in a combat theater, its success there could help keep the A-10 relevant throughout the last few years of its service, and perhaps even longer.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Special operations MH-47 Chinooks offloading fuel to other aircraft in the air is one possible future scenario that U.S. Army Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is eyeing as it begins to work out what the future Block III iteration of the twin-rotor helicopter might look like. While hypothetical at this stage, a Chinook capable of operating as an aerial refueling tanker could help address the command’s lack of organic tanker capacity and support its future air assault strategies.

Speaking at the annual SOF Week conference, senior SOCOM officers provided updates on the current status of the highly modified MH-47Gs that provide the heavy-lift muscle for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, or 160th SOAR, the famous Night Stalkers. As we have reported in the past on multiple occasions, these highly capable aircraft are frequently noted with different modifications cropping up around their airframes.

At this stage, however, SOCOM is beginning to draft possible requirements for the next iteration of special operations MH-47G — the Block III — expected to come online starting around 2032.

“Currently, we’re in Block II,” explained Sean Godfrey, product manager for the MH-47 at Army Special Operations Aviation Command. “We do not currently have what the Block III looks like, but that aircraft’s not going anywhere. It’s going to have to get upgraded over time.”

“Those next big things that we have to figure out would be how to get more out of the system,” Godfrey continued. “That would have to be enabling the aircraft to go further into more environments.” Another area of interest is increasing options for putting modular equipment on and off the aircraft, he added.

“That increased modularity to be able to rapidly take things on and off the aircraft to reconfigure it very quickly, to meet our mission requirements, is something that we’re always looking at,” added Dr. Steve Smith, SOCOM’s program executive officer for Rotary Wing.

“Anything that we do going forward, we’re going to try to make it as modular as possible. We want to go plug things in when we need them, unplug them, and take them off the aircraft when we don’t need them.”

Even with an aircraft offering the performance and capacity of the MH-47, preserving the allowable combat load is always at a premium. Increased modularity might include removing certain protection systems for operations in more-permissive environments, to give operators additional load. The same could be said for navigational systems, as well.

Smith continued: “There might be cases where I want to fill that aircraft with as much fuel as possible, and maybe that MH-47 becomes a flying FARP, and I put it somewhere, and we refuel other aircraft off of them.”

A FARP, or Forward Arming and Refueling Point, is essential for operating from austere forward bases along (or beyond) the battle lines.

This is already a key mission for the MH-47, with the 160th using these aircraft in “Fat Cow” configuration. Filled with extra tanks, the Chinook then serves as a gas station on the ground for other rotary-wing aircraft. This was a tactic famously used in the Bin Laden raid.

At a FARP, aircraft can quickly receive fuel and weapons, even without shutting down their engines. As a result, they can accelerate the fight by dramatically increasing sortie rates, or FARPs can extend the combat range of an aircraft. When it comes to just adding fuel, refueling in mid-air is an even more efficient way of doing this.

“Maybe, maybe we can do in-air refueling off of an MH-47,” Smith mused.

While he admitted that he was “just throwing stuff up against a wall,” at this point, Smith also acknowledged that having more modular systems could make that possible.

“Aerial refueling is an amazing capability,” Smith continued. “It allows us to do a lot of things, but that affects your allowable combat load, right? So, is there a way to do something modular for aerial refueling, so that the system could come on and off quickly, so that would allow us to get maybe something in country, rapidly reconfigured, and then do something else.”

For the Army, the demands for greater range and ability that cover those distances faster are seen as critical capabilities, particularly in the context of any future fight against China across the sprawling expanses of the Pacific.

According to Smith, SOCOM is already looking at the possibility of porting mission equipment from its forthcoming MV-75A Cheyenne II tiltrotors onto the MH-47 Block III, and potentially even the Block II or Block III MH-60 fleets. However, he admitted that, at this stage, there is no funding appropriated for this, or even a formal requirement.

When it comes to making Block III a reality for the MH-47, this would likely follow the same procedure that is currently used to produce special operations Chinooks.

For the MH-47G Block II, specifically, Godfrey explained that the procedure starts with selecting a legacy aircraft, some of which are now more than 60 years old. SOCOM then removes all the mission equipment and software equipment, Godfrey continued, and flies the aircraft to Delaware. Here, the aircraft is essentially torn apart, and the parts to be used are recapitalized and returned to the Boeing production line. After a multi-year process, the Chinook re-emerges as a black-painted MH-47 and then goes to have all its mission equipment fitted. Then it is delivered to the unit.

Once in SOCOM service, Smith explains that “We’re constantly trying to figure out the best ways to increase range, increase payload, increase speed, reduce weight, all while somehow holding flight-hour costs low. And all these things aren’t rolling in the same direction.”

The MH-47’s need for range is an enduring one and is reflected in its regular use of in-flight refueling itself, using the probe-and-drogue method, as also employed by SOCOM MH-60s. Already, the MH-47 features massive sponson fuel tanks compared to the standard Chinook, making them the longest-range assets of the 160th.

But whether or not some kind of palletized or modular aerial refueling capacity comes to the Chinook remains to be seen.

Expanding the “Fat Cow” role and taking the MH-47 tanker to the air would be very enticing for SOCOM. It would give them their own air-to-air refueling assets, rather than relying totally on the Air Force MC-130/HC-130 fleets. As it is, providing fuel at FARPs can be a very high-risk mission for SOCOM, considering they are often working in contested territory. If the same aircraft could be adapted to refuel MH-60s and MH-47s in the air, they would not have to land in some scenarios, and the Army wouldn’t need to call upon external refueling assets, which might not be available or cannot be risked.

It is also worth noting that questions have also emerged about how the Army will ensure there is adequate tanker capacity to support its aerial-refueling-capable MV-75s. As delivered, all Cheyenne IIs will have the capacity to have a probe fitted, the Army has confirmed, even those in non-SOCOM units, although the exact mix of how many ‘big Army’ MV-75s will get the probe and how many won’t is yet to be determined. Bell, the MV-75’s prime contractor, and the Army have both suggested that tanker drones like the U.S. Navy’s forthcoming MQ-25 Stingray could help extend the Cheyenne II’s reach. An adapted MH-47 could provide another answer, although one with drastically different performance.

Recent operations in South America and in the Middle East have underscored the need for long-range missions by Special Operations Aviation Command. The prospect of a potential conflict with China across the vast expanses of the Pacific means that longer-range platforms, of all kinds, are an increasing area of interest, and the 160th’s heavy-lifting, far-flying Chinooks are no exception.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com