NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER -- Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 1’s E-2D Hawkeye Operation Test Team completed aerial refueling (AR) training on December 3, to become the first fleet aviators to be AR qualified on the E-2D.
The training consisted of daytime and nighttime "plugs" with a KC-707 tanker. VX-1’s E-2D is equipped with a fuel probe plumbing at the front of the aircraft, which works to locate and plug into a drogue on the fueling aircraft to secure the fuel connection. The training also consisted of operating in night-time formation with another E-2D Hawkeye.
Recent changes made to the E-2D have been implemented to accommodate in-flight refueling, to include the fixed-fuel probe and associated plumbing, formation lighting, long-endurance seats, as well as flight control software and hardware changes. This new capability could double the current time the E-2D can be on station and provide for better battlespace coverage in support of the warfighter’s mission.
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