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KC-135s keep Operation Enduring Freedom mission moving from Kyrgyzstan

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  The KC-135 Stratotanker is the oldest air refueling tanker in the Air Force inventory...and it's still one of the busiest at this deployed base.

KC-135s and the Airmen who fly and maintain them at the Transit Center at Manas are with the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and the 376th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron respectively. Both units are part of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing and support the air refueling mission for Operation Enduring Freedom.

According to statistics from U.S. Air Forces Central's Combined Air Operations Center at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia, air refueling aircraft in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility have off-loaded more than 466 million pounds of fuel in 2011 to more than 35,000 receivers. This information, as of May 31, also shows tankers - including those with the 22nd EARS -- have completed more than 7,100 sorties in support of operations.

Overall, the numbers and the missions supported might also just show that the KC-135 is doing exactly what it was built to do. According to its Air Force fact sheet, the KC-135 provides aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and allied nation aircraft. The KC-135 is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations.

"Four turbofans, mounted under 35-degree swept wings, power the KC-135 to take-offs at gross weights up to 322,500 pounds," the fact sheet states. "Nearly all internal fuel can be pumped through the flying boom, the KC-135's primary fuel transfer method."

Some KC-135 aircraft have been configured with the Multi-point Refueling System, or MPRS. This includes KC-135s deployed to the 376th AEW at the Transit Center at Manas. MPRS-configured aircraft, the fact sheet states, are capable of refueling two receiver aircraft simultaneously from special "pods" mounted on the wingtips.

KC-135s are also capable of hauling cargo. A cargo deck above the refueling system can hold a mixed load of passengers and cargo. Depending on fuel storage configuration, the fact sheet shows the KC-135 can carry up to 83,000 pounds of cargo.

The Transit Center at Manas was activated in December 2001 when coalition forces deployed to Manas International Airport and began supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the 376th AEW fact sheet states. The base continues to promote regional stability in Central Asia.