Depending on fuel storage configuration, the KC-135 can carry up to 83,000 pounds of cargo. Nearly all internal fuel can be pumped through the flying boom, the KC-135's primary fuel transfer method.

After delays, cost overruns, and refueling boom issues, the KC-135 will be replaced by the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus; however, the Stratotanker will remain in service for at least another decade.

A boom operator aboard a KC-135 stationed at March Air Reserve Base near Riverside watches aircraft through a window at the rear of the tanker plane Friday, April 21, 2023.

While the KC-135 was originally designed for boom refueling, it can also perform drogue refueling by using a boom-drogue adapter (BDA), which is installed on the flight boom before flight.

A boom operator aboard a KC-135 stationed at March Air Reserve Base near Riverside watches aircraft through a window at the rear of the tanker plane Friday, April 21, 2023.

His job is to get all the jets to Chicago and keep them flying, but he also used to work on the KC-135. He was what you call the boom operator. He did what Master Sgt. Paul Fusek, of Romeoville ...

A KC-46A Pegasus like this one flew an entire aerial refueling mission with one pilot and one boom ... through the mid-2020s as it retires aged KC-10 and KC-135 tankers faster than they can ...

Marlo Fleck might be the world’s most highly trained gas station attendant. That’s how Fleck, a 37-year-old U.S Air Force Reserve major, jokingly describes her job flying Boeing KC-135 ...

A boom operator aboard a KC-135 stationed at March Air Reserve Base near Riverside watches aircraft through a window at the rear of the tanker plane Friday, April 21, 2023.

Marlo Fleck might be the world’s most highly trained gas station attendant. That’s how Fleck, a 37-year-old U.S Air Force Reserve major, jokingly describes her job flying Boeing KC-135 ...

Marlo Fleck might be the world’s most highly trained gas station attendant. That’s how Fleck, a 37-year-old U.S Air Force Reserve major, jokingly describes her job flying Boeing KC-135 ...