An Italian Air Force KC-767A aerial refueling tanker successfully completed its first US Air Force F-35A boom receiver certification refueling flight on July 29 over California's High Desert region.
Italy's KC-767A is the first international tanker to undergo refueling certification trials with a US aircraft. During the flight, the KC-767A and its military aircrew completed 25 boom contacts with the F-35A and successfully offloaded 16,000 pounds of fuel. Italy operates a fleet of four KC-767A tankers, a derivative of the Boeing 767 commercial aircraft, which are stationed at Pratica di Mare Air Base, near Rome.
Both the Italian Air Force and Navy will operate F-35s, recapitalising their existing fleets of Tornados, AMX and AV-8 Harrier aircraft. The KC-767 F-35 refueling qualifications will further enhance the operational capability of Italy's F-35 fleet and broadens Italy's capabilities to support other countries' F-35s in multi-national security operations.
The F-35A will commence operations with the RAAF in 2021 and will operate closely with the RAAF's KC-30A MRTT aircraft.