Royal Air Force Tests Expeditionary Fueling System in Arctic Circle

During the exercise in adverse weather, the service refueled an Atlas A400M heavy-lift transporter using a fabric fuel tank.

Kimberly Johnson

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 05:47 PM ET

Verified

The expeditionary refueling of the Atlas A400M occurred during Exercise Arctic Phoenix at Bardufoss Air Station , Norway. [Courtesy: Royal Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

The Royal Air Force (RAF) successfully tested a tactical fuel system in northern Norway, marking the first time a heavy-lift Atlas A400M aircraft was refueled in harsh Arctic conditions (minus-20 degrees Celsius) inside the Arctic Circle.
The exercise, "Arctic Phoenix," demonstrated the RAF's capability for "Agile Combat Employment" by proving the ability to maintain flying operations from remote and austere locations.
The test involved building a temporary Air Landed Aircraft Refuelling System with a fabric tank supported by snow-filled sandbags to defuel and refuel the transport aircraft.
Beyond refueling, the exercise also focused on training personnel in cold weather survival skills and testing aeromedical evacuation equipment in extreme arctic conditions.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The Royal Air Force tested a tactical fuel system in northern Norway, marking the first time the service refueled a heavy-lift military transport aircraft during harsh, adverse weather conditions inside the Arctic Circle.

The expeditionary refueling of the Atlas A400M occurred during Exercise Arctic Phoenix at Bardufoss Air Station (ENDU), RAF said Monday. The extreme cold weather exercise began earlier this month to train RAF personnel and test a range of service capabilities, including aeromedical evacuations and cold weather survival skills amid extreme arctic conditions with temperatures reaching minus-20 degrees Celsius (minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit) and with limited daylight.