Illinois Air Guard Refuels Poland’s F-35 in Air

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Illinois - A 126th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker refueled Poland’s F-35A Lightning II March 6.

The aerial rendezvous over northern Arkansas marked the first time a Polish F-35 was refueled by a U.S. air refueling tanker. To make it more historic, Poland’s State Partnership Program partner, the Illinois Air National Guard, conducted the refueling.

The Stratotanker took off from Scott Air Force, Illinois, and the F-35A flew out of Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Smith, Arkansas.

“For me, being the first Polish F-35 pilot who performed air to air refueling was an honor,” said a Polish student pilot. “Plus, the fact that I did this with a tanker from Illinois — a state where there are so many Poles, probably some of them even working at 126th ARW, maybe even supporting this tanker at that day, was just an amazing experience, and makes me feel so proud by doing this.”

“It was exciting for us to see,” said Lt. Col. Tony Meyers, 108th Air Refueling Squadron and mission aircraft commander. “This has been a six-month planning process for us to engage with the Flight Training Unit.”

The 126th ARW is now the dedicated tanker wing that trains with the newly activated 57th Fighter Squadron, which is training Polish Air Force F-35 fighter pilots.

The 126th ARW began refueling the Polish Air Force in 2018.

“Historically, it has been us going over there to provide support for their fighters,” said Meyers. “This is the first time we’re able to do it, to my knowledge, domestically in the U.S., supporting their training requirements from bases here in the U.S.”

Illinois has been a state partner with Poland since the State Partnership Program began in 1993. The program pairs state National Guards with international partners’ military for cooperation and training. It has grown to include 115 partner nations.