U.S. Air Force marks 70 years of KC-135 as tanker remains central to global mobility, power projection and allied operations

The U.S. Air Force marked 70 years since the KC-135 Stratotanker’s first flight with events at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, from August 31 to September 1. Introduced as the U.S. military’s first all-jet aerial-refueling aircraft, the KC-135 remains central to extending the range of American and allied combat and mobility forces while the KC-46 fleet grows. Altus displayed KC-135, KC-46 and C-17 aircraft and used simulators to highlight aircrew training. The commemoration also honored fallen boom operators and the generations of maintainers and crews that have sustained the tanker since 1956.