AUGUST 10, 2026 – A French A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport Phénix refueled U.S. and U.K. RC-135 aircraft during a historic exercise over central France, marking the first air-to-air refueling integration among the United States, United Kingdom and France within the RC-135 enterprise.
Exercise Ravitaillement en Vol brought together a U.S. Air Force TC-135 training aircraft, a Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint and a French Air and Space Force A330 MRTT Phénix. The event demonstrated how aircraft, crews and staff members from three NATO nations can operate as an increasingly integrated force.
The milestone represented more than a successful connection between tanker and receiver aircraft. It established a pathway for U.S. and U.K. RC-135 fleets to access more than 30 allied A330 MRTT tankers worldwide, expanding the reach, persistence and flexibility of a critical NATO intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability.
For the 55th Wing, which organizes, trains and equips the U.S. Air Force RC-135 fleet, the integration expands operational reach and flexibility across multiple theaters by increasing refueling options, extending time on station and giving commanders greater freedom to respond as mission demands evolve.
Personnel from the 55th Wing, 55th Operations Group and Nebraska Air National Guard’s 170th Group participated alongside members of the RAF’s 51 and 56 squadrons at RAF Waddington and the French Air and Space Force’s 31st Air Refueling and Strategic Transport Wing.
The multinational team conducted combined planning, simulator training, mission briefings and live refueling sorties. After several days of preparation, the team flew the key mission in designated refueling areas over central France.
Operating in French national airspace required planners to coordinate through U.S., U.K. and French diplomatic channels to secure required clearances. The effort underscored that interoperability extends beyond compatible aircraft and requires nations to align procedures, communications, command relationships, airspace requirements and emergency actions. By synchronizing those elements, the three nations turned a historic first into a repeatable multinational capability.
The exercise drew on testing conducted in October 2023 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, involving a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A and a U.S. Air Force RC-135. A 170th Group member who participated in that test later helped plan the French integration.
The close similarities between the Australian KC-30A and French A330 MRTT Phénix allowed planners to use data and lessons from Edwards to build the foundation for the June exercise. That continuity showed how allies can transform flight-test expertise into shared operational capability.
By broadening the tanker network available to the RC-135 enterprise, the integration gives the United States and United Kingdom greater reach, persistence and freedom of action across multiple theaters. A distributed support network reduces reliance on any single nation, tanker fleet or operating location, allowing commanders to sustain ISR coverage when access or availability becomes constrained.
That flexibility carries direct strategic value. Along NATO’s eastern flank, additional tanker capacity can help RC-135 crews remain on station longer, strengthening the alliance’s ability to monitor emerging threats and provide decision-makers with timely intelligence. In the Indo-Pacific, where distance shapes every operation, the same integration can extend ISR reach, increase endurance and improve responsiveness.
The exercise also advanced readiness across the combined RC-135 force by creating new opportunities for more frequent, regionally accessible training with allied tankers. For the RAF, expanded access to French and other partner refueling platforms could increase training opportunities, accelerate crew development and provide greater flexibility in maintaining advanced qualifications. Those opportunities strengthen the readiness and resilience of the broader RC-135 enterprise for global operations.
The three nations can now use lessons from Ravitaillement en Vol to refine common tactics, techniques and procedures and create a repeatable model for future multinational integration. Each successful event reduces friction and shortens the path from coordination to execution during real-world operations.
Most importantly, the exercise demonstrated how allied relationships create operational advantage.
The United States, United Kingdom and France did not simply place three national capabilities in the same airspace. They combined them into a single, mutually supporting force. That integration strengthens collective deterrence, increases NATO’s ability to sustain operations and complicates adversary planning and decision-making.
For the RC-135 enterprise, the historic mission over France opened the door to a wider allied tanker network and a more resilient global operating model. For NATO, interoperability provides the foundation from which the alliance generates combat power, preserves decision advantage and remains ready to respond wherever the next challenge emerges.
By Kris Pierce
55th Wing Public Affairs