Naval aviation crews of the Baltic Fleet conducted planned night exercises to practice in-flight refueling technologies. The event took place over the waters of the Baltic Sea and the territory of the Kaliningrad region with the involvement of more than ten units of aviation equipment.
The air group included multi-purpose Su-30SM and modified Su-30SM2 fighters, as well as Su-24M front-line bombers. The Il-78 of the Russian Aerospace Forces was responsible for refueling. The crews practiced docking with the fuel receiver. The exercises were conducted both individually and as part of a pair of aircraft. The pilots synchronously approached the tanker to simultaneously replenish fuel supplies.
Air refueling is a category of high-precision operations that require perfect coordination of crews and precise adherence to flight parameters. The procedure allows to significantly expand the radius of combat use of aviation, ensuring the fulfillment of tasks at a distance of over 1,000 km from the base airfield. In addition, the technology makes it possible to continuously transfer aviation units to distant theaters of military operations without intermediate landings, as well as the use of guided weapons of the "air-to-air" and "air-to-surface" classes in an expanded area of responsibility.