Footage from inside an Israeli Air Force KC-707 Re’em tanker aircraft was recently published on the official IDF Instagram page, providing a rare tour of the aircraft.
The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) uploaded a short Instagram reel on their official @idfonline page on Jan. 6, 2025, offering previously unseen footage inside one of the IAF’s KC-707s tanker aircraft. The new video of the aircraft – called the Re’em, Hebrew for ‘Oryx’, in Israeli service – included clips of the extremely secretive RVS (Remote Vision System) used by the boom operator to monitor and control the very precise movements required for air-to-air refueling, the core function of the specialized Boeing 707.
This is particularly significant because neither images nor videos of this key system have previously been published online in such detail. This comes a few months after we caught a brief glimpse of the system when we saw footage of the Re’em being used to refuel F-35I Adir fighters in retaliatory strikes against targets in Yemen last summer. With the tanker now reaching its twilight years, it seems as if the IDF is becoming less secretive of the platform.
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The footage also shows additional interesting imagery from inside the tanker, including the removable internal fuel tanks, which allow the tanker to be reconfigured into a transport aircraft, complete with airline-style seating. Israel, in fact, uses the KC-707 not only for air-to-air refueling, but also for tranport and as command center.
The rare video was released, according to the caption, for the 60th anniversary of the Re’em in service with the Israeli Air Force, celebrated on Jan. 5, 2025.
The RVS system
The desk-sized RVS station, located in the main cabin of the Re’em, features a single screen in the center, surrounded by various controls and instruments related to the mission. Two control sticks on either side of the relatively large screen are complemented with a wide array of analog instruments, as well as a foot-controlled communications system.
The screen projects information from the RVS camera, which is located on the tail of the tanker just in front of the refueling boom. The audio script from the video also states that the boom operator, also known as ‘boomer’, uses special glasses to work with the RVS. Notably, boomers onboard the U.S. Air Force’s new KC-46 tankers are also equipped with glasses, which complement the multitude of 2D/3D monitors of the aircraft’s RVS.
The RVS onboard the KC-707 was independently developed in Israel, and this earlier analogue system has been serving the IDF very successfully for decades, in contrast to the more modern, yet plague-ridden RVS on the KC-46. Ironically, the IDF is slated to replace the now aging KC-707s with KC-46s in the near future. An order for the first eight aircraft has been placed, and the aircraft will most likely be equipped with the 2.0 version of the next-generation RVS.
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Airbus has also developed and introduced a complex RVS system on their A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport), which is in service with a large number of air arms around the world. Notably, the A330 MRTT has conducted fully automated refueling operations with the RSAF’s (Republic of Singapore Air Force) tankers and fighters during both day and night.
The KC-707 Re’em
The IAF has operated multiple batches of the KC-707 since 1979, and the oldest airframes based on the 707-100s have already been retired. The service reportedly operates today a fleet of seven Re’ems based on the relatively newer 707-300, and the first aircraft of the newest batch entered service in 1978.
The 707-300s were bought from commercial airlines, before being modified by IAI (Israeli Aerospace Industries) for the aerial refueling role. Some airframes underwent conversions as recently as the 2010s.
Unlike the KC-135 – based on the same Model 367-80 that originated the 707 – which features a physical window at the aft in place of the RVS’ more complex camera system, requiring the boomer to be at the window during refueling, the KC-707’s boom is operated from the RVS workstation behind the cockpit.
The fuel is stored in removable fuel tanks in the cargo hold of the aircraft, of which footage was also revealed in the video. This configuration was also used by some RAF (Royal Air Force) VC-10 tankers, and contrasts to the KC-135 which has specialized fuel stores in the wings and lower fuselage.
In addition to the KC-707, the IAF currently uses the KC-130H to refuel its rotary-wing assets (like the CH-53 and UH-60 series of helicopters) equipped with a probe, and historically have operated the KC-97, as well as buddy-refuelers like the F-4E and A-4H.
Besides its primary aerial refueling role, the Re’em also serves as a C3 (Command, Control and Communications) asset. It carries a satellite communications suite which is used to provide secure communications with tactical aircraft like the F-15, F-16 and F-35s. This is especially useful in long-range strike missions, and the KC-707 is thus able to support these tactical assets both with fuel and information transfer.
