Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one military aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) during flight. The two main refueling systems are probe-and-drogue, which is simpler to adapt to existing aircraft, and the flying boom, which offers faster fuel transfer, but requires a dedicated boom operator station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 5 Rafale fighter aircraft en route to India were refuelled mid-air. Pictures of the refuelling exercise were taken at a height of 30,000 feet. The Indian Air Force ‘appreciated the support’ provided by the French Air Force for the Rafale journey. France used an Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport to refuel the Rafale jets. The aircraft had left for India on July 27 with a stopover in the United Arab Emirates. While France provided fuel support in the first leg of the journey, IAF’s Ilyushin-78s will take over for the second leg. This is the first batch of Rafales being delivered to India after a deal was finalised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then French counterpart Francois Hollande in 2015. India has bought 36 Rafale jets for Rs 59,000 crore. They will be part of the IAF’s No. 17 squadron, the ‘Golden Arrows’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n