Above left:
A KC-767A with all
three of its hoses
extended awaits
a Eurofighter
F-2000A of
the Reparto
Sperimentale
Volo (RSV) test
unit. Francesco
Militello Mirto
Left: A 6° Stormo
Tornado plugged
into the port hose
and drogue.
Luca La Cavera
Above top to
bottom: The
flight deck of the
KC-767 with two
pilots and the air
refueling officer
(ARO), who is up
front for crew
co-ordination pre-
tanking.
Luca La Cavera
The ARO
concentrates
on the job as
Eurofighters move
in to tank from the
wing hoses.
Luca La CaveraTanker roles
The standard Italian KC-767A crew
consists of a pilot, co-pilot, loadmaster
and an air-refueling operator (ARO,
known locally as an Operatore Sistemi di
Rifornimento in Volo, OSRV), plus a crew
chief if a land-away is planned.
The aircraft’s universal air refueling
receptacle slipway installation (UARRSI)
enables the KC-767 to receive fuel in
flight. The remote air refueling operator
(RARO) station located behind the flight
deck is where the ARO conducts the
refueling operation. A remote camera
system allows the operator to monitor
the two wing air refueling pods (WARPs)
for hose-and-drogue receivers —
offering a flow rate of around 1,500 liters
(396 US gallons) per minute — together
with the centerline ventral hose that can
replenish at a rate of 2,300 liters (608 US
gallons) per minute. The air refueling
boom (ARB), also on the centerline, has
a higher flow rate of about 3,400 liters
(898 US gallons) per minute.
The KC-767’s wake turbulence is
considered less intrusive than that
from older tankers. In addition, the AROis able to control the boom carefully
despite being remote from its location.
Fly-by-wire controls enable precise boom
control and the operator uses a pair of
stereoscopic cameras and a headset to
give a 3D view of the receiver.
Combat Aircraft spoke with an ARO
who joined the KC-767 force from a
previous tour with the USAF on the
KC-10 Extender. Today he is one of the
most experienced members of the
KC-767 team. ‘The task of the ARO is to
supervise both the refueling systems
and to communicate with the receivers’,
he explained. ‘The hose and drogue are
really in the hands of the receiver — we
extend the hoses and clear them in. The
ARO has to carefully ‘fly’ the boom. Once
we hook up, the receiver pilot must hold
position to ensure the boom remains
connected.’
Speaking from the ‘customer’
perspective, an AM Eurofighter F-2000A
pilot commented, ‘The most important
thing for the receiver is to get to the AAR
[air-to-air refueling] area at the scheduled
time’. He added, ‘The main concern is a lot
of aircraft all in a small piece of sky.’Tenente Colonnello (Lt Col)
Daniele, the former KC-767 squadron
commander, continued, ‘The docile
handling of the KC-767 is particularly
appreciated during refueling operations.
It’s stable and predictable and it has
a high fuel capacity for a medium-
sized tanker. It’s during buddy-buddy
refueling — when we receive fuel from
another tanker — that the airplane
reveals its maneuverability, the handling
precision and engine responsiveness.’
Aside from its tanker capabilities,
the KC-767 features a modular main
deck, which can be configured
depending on the mission at hand. It
can accommodate up to 200 passengers
or 19 standard NATO pallets in cargo
configuration, or 10 pallets and 100
passengers in a combi configuration,
plus containers on the lower deck.
Daniele says, ‘The aircraft configurations
change from time to time, but this is a
rather complex and laborious activity.’A valuable service
On entering service, the Italian KC-767
was almost immediately pressed intohttp://www.combataircraft.net // July 2018 57
54-59 Italian tankers C.indd 57 22/05/2018 17:23