Watch out these photographs of 14 KC-135 tankers performing an “Elephant Walk” at McConnell AFB

David Cenciotti
2 Min Read

Simulated alert call at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas.

On Mar. 24, fourteen KC-135 Stratotankers performed an “Elephant Walk” as part of an exercise aimed at testing the rapid mobility capabilities and teamwork of the crews at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas.

KC-135 Elephant walk 2

Elephant walks are periodically performed at airbases all around the world to train fighter jets, bombers, airlifters as well as tankers for war-time operations and test crews ability to quickly and safely mass launch base aircraft within minutes of being notified of a mission; depending on the purpose of the training event Elephant Walk may terminate with the aircraft taking off in sequence, or taxi back to the apron.

KC-135 Elephant walk 3

Image credit: U.S. Air Force photos/Airman 1st Class Christopher Thornbury

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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.
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