171st Air Refueling Wing

Mission:

The mission of the 171st Air Refueling Wing is to enable global reach through superior air refueling expertise and to provide mission support in domestic and international operations in the USAF. The 171st strives to be the premier flying wing in the USAF. A unified team of Airmen who empower excellence, embrace innovation and embody the AF Core Values in everything we do.

171st Air Refueling Wing Facts:

- The 171st is the only “Superwing” in the ANG with two squadrons with robust capabilities.

- The 171st has a superb flight safety record spanning 55 years without a Class A mishap (top 1% in USAF).

- The 171st enjoys a robust recruiting market with end strength above 100% for the past 10 years.

- The 171st has executed the most Title 10 (Federal Active Duty) lines of alert in the country.

KC-135 R/T Facts:

- During aerial refueling at about 600 MPH, the boom operation in the tail of the tanker is only 20 feet above the nose of the aircraft being refueled.

- A gas station pump operating steadily for 24 hours wouldn’t pump as much fuel as a tanker pours through its air refueling boom in eight minutes.

- The average passenger car would operate for more than a year on the amount of fuel transferred through the air refueling boom in one minute.

- A KC-135 R/T tanker not only can refuel other planes, but also has the capability to siphon fuel back in to the tanker from certain receivers. This process is called reverse air refueling.