6 ARW

US Air Force Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers visit Perth Airport on world circumnavigation exercise

63-8879 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker of 6th Air Refuelling Wing, US Air Force, at Perth Airport, Western Australia - 26 January 2023. 'BOLT 01' taxying in at 3:24pm. Based at MacDill AFB, Florida, USA. Originally delivered to the USAF as a KC-135A on 31 July 1964 and converted to KC-135R in February 1993. Arrived with another KC-135R 57-1483 'KNIGHT 01' from the 92nd Air Refuelling Wing, based at Fairchild AFB, Washington State, USA. The two aircraft circumnavigated the Southern Hemisphere in an endurance mission covering roughly 20,000 miles over seven days, to demonstrate their global reach capability. They flew MacDill Air Force Base (Florida, USA) - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) - Cape Town (South Africa) - Perth. They departed on 27 January 2023 to Christchurch (New Zealand), then on 28 January to Papeete (Tahiti). 57-1483 then flew direct to Fairchild AFB in Washington State, USA, while 63-8879 instead flew to MacDill AFB. Photo © David Eyre

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US Air Force Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers visit Perth Airport on world circumnavigation exercise

David Eyre 26 January 2023

26 January 2023 A pair of US Air Force Boeing KC-135R Statotankers passed through Perth Airport on 26-27 January 2023 as part of an exercise to demonstrate their global...

US Air Force Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers visit Perth Airport on world circumnavigation exercise

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