Watch an MC-130J Commando II refuel two F-22 Raptor jets, on the ground, at a Forward Air Refueling Point

Did you know F-22 Raptor stealth jets can be refueled by a Special Operations MC-130J tanker on the ground?

The following video shows Forward air refueling point airmen with the 1st Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron conduct a FARP operation at Hurlburt Field, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2017.

The FARP program is a Special Operations Command initiative that trains petroleum, oils and lubrication airmen to perform covert, nighttime refueling operations in deployed locations where fueling stations are not accessible or when air-to-air refueling is not possible.

Actually, the exercise proves a refueler equipped with the hose and drogue system can refuel an aircraft that has no IFR (In Flight Refueling) probe but uses the flying boom AAR (Air-to-Air Refueling) system: in this case three F-22 Raptors assigned to the 95th Fighter squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida., received fuel from an MC-130J Commando II tanker assigned to the 9th Special Operations Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M..

Although the stealth jets use a dorsal receptacle they were refueled, on the ground, by a MC-130J that would have been unable to refuel the jets mid-air, being equipped with the hose-and-drogue system that requires a probe like that used by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps jets.

FARPs provide the ability to ensure an aircraft’s global reach capabilities are met to accomplish the mission.

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About David Cenciotti

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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.