[Photo] NATO E-3 AWACS refueled over Eastern Europe by U.S. KC-135 tanker

April 11, 2014 Military Aviation

David Cenciotti

KC-135 Stratotankers of the 100th ARW (Air Refueling Wing) from RAF Mildenhall are supporting NATO planes over Eastern Europe.

There’s a lot of aircraft currently operating over Romania and Poland, following Russia’s annexiation of Crimea.

Among them, the KC-135 tankers refueling the E-3 AWACS of the Royal Air Force and French Air Force (as the one in the image) that NATO deployed close to Ukraine in order to monitor the air activity of Russian planes amassing near the border.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

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.