Photo: First U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighters perform aerial refueling from KC-130J

On Oct. 2, two U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighters conducted the first aerial refueling with a KC-130J Hercules in the sky above Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The aircraft involved in the air-to-air refuel operations belonged to the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, from Eglin, whereas the tanker was a KC-130J from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252, based out of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

Image credit: U.S. Marine Corps

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.