Israel’s Air Force is weighing the future of its veteran Boeing 707 refuelers just as its first new KC-46 “Gideon” tanker landed at Nevatim earlier this month. The Defense Ministry has already ordered six KC-46s from Boeing for more than $1.2 billion, but the old 707 fleet, converted for aerial refueling by Israel Aerospace Industries in the early 1980s after the United States refused to sell such aircraft, is still indispensable.
The 707s, known in the Air Force as “Re’em,” played a central role in the war with Iran by enabling F-16, F-15 and F-35 strikes on nuclear sites, missile-production and launch facilities, air-defense systems and other targets in Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad and Tabriz. The article says the tankers supported hundreds of refueling sorties, transferred about 20 million pounds of fuel, and helped make possible what the Air Force describes as an unprecedented operational tempo.
A senior maintenance officer in Squadron 120 said the aircraft were kept flying through intense risk management, rapid inspections on the ground, and constant work even during air-raid alerts, with spare parts sourced worldwide and components refurbished in the Air Force’s central maintenance unit because there was no time to send them to the United States. He said all the squadron’s aircraft returned safely and called the 707 “a very special aircraft,” adding, “some would say, with a big soul.”
The officer said he cannot judge whether keeping the 707s until age 100 would be economical, but argued that need, not ideal budgets, will decide. “If it were up to me, they could keep going,” he said, noting that the Air Force could certainly fly them for another five years and possibly longer if necessary. He said the squadron reached its best readiness ever, while the new KC-46s will eventually strengthen the force further.
The squadron’s veteran and reserve crews, together with civilian Air Force employees from Israel Aerospace Industries, were credited with sustaining the fleet. A senior reserve pilot said the tankers were central to bringing 200 fighter jets, and their weapons, to bear against Iran, while stressing that the aircraft are harder to land and require constant vigilance. Another reserve pilot said the squadron’s planning and teamwork nearly doubled its operational capability in the recent campaign compared with the earlier “With the Lion” operation.
