AUGUST 15, 2025 – Airmen from the Connecticut Air National Guard’s 103rd Airlift Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing, and Vermont’s Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing have pulled off a milestone maneuver in modern air combat operations — and it’s making waves.
These Air National Guard units joined forces to execute a Distributable Integrated Combat Turn, or D-ICT, refining a tactic that keeps fighter jets fueled, armed and back in action in under an hour.
The wow factor? A pair of C-130 Hercules aircraft provided both fuel and arms to engines that run F-15 and F-35 aircraft — no external support, no additional equipment. Just a hard surface to land on.
This July 24 capstone exercise was the culmination of two years of refining an established capability and marked the first time a “hot” rearming and refueling mission has been done entirely independently.
Adjustments to hose size and equipment reorganization led to an incredibly fast turnaround. The total time for fighters in chalks was just one hour. The time from the first fighter landing to the last jet departing took only one hour and twenty-five minutes — a clear demonstration of the Air Force’s ability to project power anytime, anywhere. In today’s contested, remote and unpredictable environments, success demands innovation, flexibility and speed. The Air National Guard crews leading this exercise embodied all of that and more.
“D-ICT enables us to project power rapidly, wherever needed,” said Col. Michael Blair, commander of the 158th Fighter Wing. “We understand that in the vast, contested spaces of our pacing-threat theaters, speed and flexibility are critical.”
As the cargo door of the C-130 Hercules dropped for the exercise, crews from each unit moved with the precise speed and flexibility Blair described. Fuel hoses were swiftly dragged across the hot tarmac. Precisely loaded munitions cases were rolled off the C-130 and tactically prepositioned for use. Crews from the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s Barnes base and the Vermont Air National Guard watched the skies with anticipation.
“Once we start seeing the fighters do their initial sweep, come back around and actually land, it’s an exciting feeling,” said Tech. Sgt. Jose Hernandez, a forward arming and refueling point operator with the 103rd Fuels Management Flight. “It’s game time.”
“The D-ICT epitomizes the essence of Agile Combat Employment,” said Lt. Col. Doug Ferro, commander of the 103rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. “This enables Combat Air Forces to deliver lethal airpower with unprecedented agility by leveraging Mobility Air Forces platforms for rapid, distributed operations.”
Ferro, a key planner of the exercise, played a critical role in the capstone’s resounding success. The complex choreography involved in this simultaneous refueling and rearming event was the result of more than two years of preparation by Ferro and his team at the 103rd, who have developed Forward Arming and Refueling Point, or FARP, capabilities to the point that they now educate other bases on it.
“D-ICT breaks the mold on traditional ways of supporting the warfighter,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Deardorff, commander of the 103rd Operations Group. “This capability gives Combatant Commands and planners another option to prosecute the mission and ensure resiliency in a dynamically changing environment.”
While the D-ICT is just one of many tools, it represents a significant capability for operating in peer-contested environments. One major change in this iteration, compared to previous Air Mobility Command, or AMC, and National Guard Bureau FARP exercises, was the use of a 3-inch hose instead of a 2-inch hose. According to a June 12 rehearsal after-action report, the wider hose increased fuel flow by more than 50% — a substantial improvement.
“We did a test with an R11 truck that the Vermont guys used to refuel the F-35, and we were 76% as quick as them with the truck,” Ferro said.
Master Sgt. Cameron Dunn, a loadmaster with the 103rd Operations Group and another key planner, emphasized the exceptional teamwork behind the success.
“I can’t stress enough how much the [Massachusetts] Barnes and Vermont folks just took it and ran with it,” Dunn said. “Without those guys, we couldn’t have put this all together and showcased this capability.”
He described how the 158th Fighter Wing, known as the “Green Mountain Boys,” and the 104th Fighter Wing, referred to as the “Barnstormers,” enthusiastically took on extra training, shared equipment and operated with absolute professionalism.
“These Combat Turn exercises, demonstrate our ability to distribute and operate from any location, reflect the challenges faced and overcome by today’s Airmen,” said Col. David “Moon” Halasi-Kun, commander of the 104th Fighter Wing. “By bringing this scheme of maneuver into our regular training, we deter future adversaries and prepare for combat in a highly dynamic theater.”
Commanders of the 103rd, 104th, and 158th echoed similar sentiments.
“We’re keeping our warfighters closer to the fight and extending their effectiveness far longer than before,” stated Col. Michael Blair, commander of the 158th Fighter Wing. “This is how we outpace threats and sustain airpower in dynamic environments.”
Col. Neal “Rug” Byrne, commander of the 103rd Airlift Wing, added, “This shows our pacing competitors that their ability to target us is much, much more complex, because we can distribute and operate from anywhere, anytime.”
The D-ICT capstone showcased dynamic collaboration between Air National Guard units with no waivers, no regulatory violations and no reliance on base infrastructure. It represents an innovative use of Mobility Air Forces, or MAF, assets and a game-changing capability for rapid, distributed combat operations worldwide.
By Capt. Jennifer Kaprielian
103rd Airlift Wing