WarMonitor on Nostr: The U.S. Air Force KC-135 "Stratotanker" that survived the fatal midair collision ...
The U.S. Air Force KC-135 "Stratotanker" that survived the fatal midair collision with another KC-135 over Iraq in March is now en route towards the United Kingdom, likely beginning its return to the United States.
Based on the extensive structural damage sustained in the collision, it is likely the aircraft was repaired using a replacement tail section sourced from a retired KC-135 at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, aka the "Boneyard", at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. While the U.S. Air Force has not publicly detailed the repair, such component replacements are a well established practice for returning heavily damaged aircraft to service.
Published at
2026-08-02 15:31:22 CESTEvent JSON
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"content": "The U.S. Air Force KC-135 \"Stratotanker\" that survived the fatal midair collision with another KC-135 over Iraq in March is now en route towards the United Kingdom, likely beginning its return to the United States.\n\nBased on the extensive structural damage sustained in the collision, it is likely the aircraft was repaired using a replacement tail section sourced from a retired KC-135 at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, aka the \"Boneyard\", at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. While the U.S. Air Force has not publicly detailed the repair, such component replacements are a well established practice for returning heavily damaged aircraft to service.\nhttps://blossom.primal.net/5f557d00ebcb15dde5914e3d18effb4d82065b5932599b33d447cdd485f93f35.jpg\nhttps://blossom.primal.net/19fb83ae820bf789205c63ac011c6e205312700b112ef6445db621e4638f615c.jpg\nhttps://blossom.primal.net/a16d28e49417c994da1e5a857fc7b2a6a2f84909326e16014a34490346c42309.jpg",
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