Air-to-air refueling training with the United States Air Force in August 2025

The Finnish Air Force's F/A-18 Hornet pilots will fly training missions with the United States Air Force’s KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft between 11 and 15 August 2025.

The objective of air-to-air refueling training is to provide fighter pilots with new air-to-air refueling qualifications, to extend the validity of current qualifications, and to renew expired ones. Obtaining and maintaining an air-to-air refueling qualification is a part of the flight training of Finnish fighter pilots.

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

The air-to-air refueling training missions will be flown in Finnish airspace as part of the Finnish Air Force’s daily flight operations between 11 and 15 August 2025. The Finnish F/A-18 Hornets will fly from their home bases in the Karelia, Lapland and Satakunta Air Wings.