Increase the operational radius of the aircraft.

The combat radius is one of the important indexes to measure the combat capability of fighters and even the air force. In order to improve the operational radius of aircraft, people always increase the fuel load of aircraft as much as possible, but too much fuel load can only be at the expense of other performance of aircraft. Taking aerial refueling can better solve this contradiction.

According to reports, after a refueling in the air, the combat radius of the bomber can be increased by 25 ~ 30%; The combat radius of fighter can be increased by 30 ~ 40%; The range of a transport plane can be almost doubled. If aerial refueling is carried out many times, combat aircraft can achieve "global arrival and global operations". In addition, through aerial refueling, bombers and fighter bases can be deployed as far away from the front line as possible to reduce the chance of being attacked and relieve the pressure on the front-line airports. Increase the aircraft payload.

Because the "maximum load factor" and "maximum takeoff weight" of an aircraft are certain, the fuel load and bomb load are always a pair of contradictions. After using aerial refueling, this contradiction was solved. Aircraft can carry bombs to the maximum extent, thus improving operational efficiency.

According to experts' analysis, eight F- 1 17A fighters equipped with two aerial tankers can complete the task equivalent to 75 aircraft formations. In addition, helicopters operating in plateau and high temperature areas can rely on aerial refueling to reduce the oil load, thus improving their hovering performance and flight safety in complex terrain.

Extend the idle time of the machine on duty.

Aircraft performing special tasks, such as patrol aircraft, early warning aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, etc., often take a long time to leave blank. If you want to maintain a long duty time, there will be more sorties. If aerial refueling is used, a few planes can accomplish more tasks. The reason why the early warning aircraft can perform tasks for more than ten hours or even longer depends mainly on aerial refueling.

Improve the ability of quick mobility.

With the support of the tanker, all kinds of aircraft can fly long distances without landing, which reduces the dependence on the midway airport, avoids the delay and inconvenience caused by the take-off and landing of the transition, and greatly improves the long-range maneuverability and quick response ability of aviation. At present, the US Air Force is equipped with about 700 tankers, which can ensure that more than 600 strategic bombers and 1000 fighters can go to sea at the same time.

Rescue the plane short of oil.

For the plane that may crash due to lack of oil, emergency refueling in the air can make it return smoothly. In the Vietnam War, thousands of planes got a response. In particular, aerial refueling of helicopters has improved its rescue efficiency, thus saving the lives of more than 4,000 American soldiers. On the first day of the Gulf War, an American tanker rescued an F- 1 17 stealth fighter that was about to run out of fuel in time. It is said that western countries used aerial refueling to save many planes that were on the verge of cutting off oil and saved hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.