The US Air Force (USAF) has announced the acquisition of a new model of the 100th Air Refueling Division KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft, equipped with advanced automatic pilot and instrument features with glass concept displays.
According to the service’s latest press release, the U.S. Air Force, assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Division, received Block 45 of the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft on 24 November 2021 at RAF Base Mildenhall in the UK.
The 100th ARW was the last active division of the U.S. Air Force to receive a model known as the Black 45 variant.
“The RAF Mildenhall base now has Black 45 aircraft, so all active U.S. Air Force teams have some Black 40 and 45 variants of the KC-135,” said Captain Nicholas Boonstra, pilot of the 351st Squadron Air refueling.
The arrival of the aircraft brings additional features to the 100th ARW, which contributes to faster fuel delivery throughout Europe and Africa.
“The automatic pilot is much more advanced and the Black 45 variant replaces the old engine tools with a larger glass wizard,” Boonstra said. “With more resources, we need to achieve greater work readiness.”
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