Air-to-air refueling training with the United States Air Force

The Finnish Air Force's F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets will fly training missions with the United States Air Force’s KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft on 10–13 February 2025.

The objective of the air-to-air refueling (AAR) training missions is to gain, maintain and renew Finnish fighter pilots’ AAR qualifications. Finnish F/A-18 pilots complete an AAR qualification as part of their flight training.

The Finnish Air Force will carry out the training missions in cooperation with the United States Air Force’s 100th Air Refueling Wing (100 ARW) based at RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom. The training event will involve Finnish F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters and a U.S. KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft.

The training missions will be flown in Finnish airspace in the area bordering on Rovaniemi, Kuusamo, Kajaani and Oulu as part of the Finnish Air Force’s daily flight operations on 10–13 February 2025. The Finnish F/A-18s will fly from their homes bases in Rovaniemi, Rissala and Pirkkala. The KC-135 Stratotanker will operate out of Rovaniemi Air Base.