The French Air Force has conducted the first night HAAR (Helicopter Air-to-Air Refueling).

The following video shows a 352nd Special Operations Squadron MC-130J refueling French Air Force Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracals from the Escadron d’Hélicoptères (EH) 1/67 Pyrénées, during the night HAAR (Helicopter Air to Air Refueling) qualification flights conducted at the end of February.

French helicopters rely on foreign partners to conduct this peculiar kind of aerial refueling: along with the MC-130Js, the FAF Caracals often train with the Italian KC-130J tankers of the 46^ Brigata Aerea (Air Brigade) from Pisa. The FAF should be able to perform autonomous HAAR once the two ordered KC-130Js will be delivered in 2019.

According to Jane’s, in October 2015, France conducted its first operational HAAR mission, when a Caracal based in N’djamena, Chad, was refueled by a U.S. KC-130J.

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H/T Pierre Maneval for the heads-up

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