European Air Refuelling Training 2016; Eindhoven, April 11 – 22, 2016

Training with the European Tankers; Text and Photograph's by Alex van Noye

During the annual European Air Refuelling Training (EART) fighter pilots from different European countries are (re-)qualified to refuel in the air. The EART will take place in parallel with the exercise Frisian Flag at Leeuwarden Air Base. Each day, a number of tankers will take-off from Eindhoven Air Base to refuel the fighters over the North Sea. From Eindhoven there would participate a Dutch KDC-10, an Italian KC-30 and a French C-135FR. The German A310MRTT would operate from its own airfield in Koln-Bonn. The tankers would only fly when refuelling actions were needed during the Frisian Flag exercise. Therefore not all tankers would fly twice a day during this refuelling exercise.