The fuels division of the logistics department at Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, and the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 have conducted the first hot refueling activity for Type-4 aircraft using a new fueling system.
The team performed a hot refuel of a KC-130J Hercules tanker using the Aircraft Direct Fueling System, marking the expansion of MCAS Iwakuni’s support for operations in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, the U.S. Marine Corps said Monday.
ADFS is designed to service aircraft with hot refueling capability while keeping the engines running during fuel intake to enable crew rotation and cargo or personnel boarding.
The new fueling system also requires less personnel to allow others to work on other refueling or mission-critical tasks, the Marine Corps added.
The fuels division conducted ADFS training prior to the exercise, which also utilized MCAS Iwakuni’s hot refueling pit that works to service Type-4 aircraft including KC-130J, the MH-60 Seahawk helicopter and the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor.