Mid-Air Refuelling

Facts for Prelims

Mid-Air Refuelling

News: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, (HAL) will convert six Boeing-767 civilian aircraft into mid-air refuellers for the Indian Air Force (IAF), for which it had entered into an agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in April.

About:
• The IAI has expertise in undertaking such conversion. The overall process is expected to take at least three or four years. The IAF has been looking to procure mid-air refuellers for some time.
• Mid-air refuelling significantly enhances the range and payload of fighter jets.
• It also allows aircraft to stay in the air much beyond their normal limits allowing better exploitation of the platform’s capabilities.