#aerial tanker

[nocternalrandomness]

"Teasin' Tina"

[ghostwarriorrrr]

[zvaigzdelasas]

Israeli tanks, jets and bulldozers bombarding Gaza and razing homes in the occupied West Bank are being fueled by a growing number of countries signed up to the genocide and Geneva conventions, new research suggests, which legal experts warn could make them complicit in serious crimes against the Palestinian people.

Four tankers of American jet fuel primarily used for military aircraft have been shipped to Israel since the start of its aerial bombardment of Gaza in October.

Three shipments departed from Texas after the landmark international court of justice (ICJ) ruling on 26 January ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza. The ruling reminded states that under the genocide convention they have a “common interest to ensure the prevention, suppression and punishment of genocide”.

Overall, almost 80% of the jet fuel, diesel and other refined petroleum products supplied to Israel by the US over the past nine months was shipped after the January ruling, according to the new research commissioned by the non-profit Oil Change International and shared exclusively with the Guardian.

Researchers analyzed shipping logs, satellite images and other open-source industry data to track 65 oil and fuel shipments to Israel between 21 October last year and 12 July.

It suggests a handful of countries – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Gabon, Nigeria, Brazil and most recently the Republic of the Congo and Italy – have supplied 4.1m tons of crude oil to Israel, with almost half shipped since the ICJ ruling. An estimated two-thirds of crude came from investor-owned and private oil companies, according to the research, which is refined by Israel for domestic, industrial and military use.

Israel relies heavily on crude oil and refined petroleum imports to run its large fleet of fighter jets, tanks and other military vehicles and operations, as well as the bulldozers implicated in clearing Palestinian homes and olive groves to make way for unlawful Israeli settlements.

In response to the new findings, UN and other international law experts called for an energy embargo to prevent further human rights violations against the Palestinian people – and an investigation into any oil and fuels shipped to Israel that have been used to aid acts of alleged genocide and other serious international crimes.

“After the 26 January ICJ ruling, states cannot claim they did not know what they were risking to partake in,” said Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, adding that under international law, states have obligations to prevent genocide and respect and ensure respect for the Geneva conventions.[...]

“In the case of the US jet-fuel shipments, there are serious grounds to believe that there is a breach of the genocide convention for failure to prevent and disavowal of the ICJ January ruling and provisional measures,” said Albanese. “Other countries supplying oil and other fuels absolutely also warrant further investigation.”

In early August, a tanker delivered an estimated 300,000 barrels of US jet fuel to Israel after being unable to dock in Spain or Gibraltar amid mounting protests and warnings from international legal experts. Days later, more than 50 groups wrote to the Greek government calling for a war-crimes investigation after satellite images showed the vessel in Greek waters.

Last week, the US released $3.5bn to Israel to spend on US-made weapons and military equipment, despite reports from UN human rights experts and other independent investigations that Israeli forces are violating international law in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. A day later, the US approved a further $20bn in weapons sales, including 50 fighter jets, tank ammunition and tactical vehicles.

The sale and transfer of jet fuel – and arms – “increase the ability of Israel, the occupying power, to commit serious violations”, according to the UN human rights council resolution in March.

The US is the biggest supplier of fuel and weapons to Israel. Its policy was unchanged by the ICJ ruling, according to the White House.

“The case for the US’s complicity in genocide is very strong,” aid Dr Shahd Hammouri, lecturer in international law at the University of Kent and the author of Shipments of Death. “It’s providing material support, without which the genocide and other illegalities are not possible. The question of complicity for the other countries will rely on assessment of how substantial their material support has been.”[...]

A spokesperson for the Brazilian president’s office said oil and fuel trades were carried out directly by the private sector according to market rules: “Although the government’s stance on Israel’s current military action in Gaza is well known, Brazil’s traditional position on sanctions is to not apply or support them unilaterally.

Azerbaijan, the largest supplier of crude to Israel since October, will host the 29th UN climate summit in November, followed by Brazil in 2025.[...]

The Biden administration did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Vice-President Kamala Harris’s presidential election campaign team.

Israel is a small country with a relatively large army and air force. It has no operational cross-border fossil fuel pipelines, and relies heavily on maritime imports.[...]

The new data suggests:

•Half the crude oil in this period came from Azerbaijan (28%) and Kazakhstan (22%). Azeri crude is delivered via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, majority-owned and operated by BP. The crude oil is loaded on to tankers at the Turkish port of Ceyhan for delivery to Israel. Turkey recently submitted a formal bid to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ.

•African countries supplied 37% of the total crude, with 22% coming from Gabon, 9% from Nigeria and 6% from the Republic of the Congo.

•In Europe, companies in Italy, Greece and Albania appear to have supplied refined petroleum products to Israel since the ICJ ruling. Last month, Israel also received crude from Italy – a major oil importer. A spokesperson said the Italian government had “no information” about the recent shipments.

•Cyprus provided transshipment services to tankers supplying crude oil from Gabon, Nigeria, and Kazakhstan.[...]

Just six major international fossil-fuel companies – BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies – could be linked to 35% of the crude oil supplied to Israel since October, the OCI analysis suggests. This is based on direct stakes in oilfields supplying Israeli and/or the companies’ shares in production nationally.[...]

Last week, Colombia suspended coal exports to Israel “to prevent and stop acts of genocide against the Palestinian people”, according to the decree signed by President Gustavo Petro. Petro wrote on X: “With Colombian coal they make bombs to kill the children of Palestine.”

20 Aug 24

[soumarhea]

Planes Human!au character ref sheet updated designs + new additions. (I'm sticking with the chibi style this time since it's mass-producible. One day I'll try the semi-real style again.) [Prev. post]

Dusty; (clockwise from top-left: Farm boy, Honorary Jolly Rogers, Firefighter, and Air racer.)

I would've given him a cap to match his og character design, but I like his hair...

Decides to go plain and simple with his Honorary Jolly Rogers flight suit.

Leadbottom sponsored for his air racer suit. Dusty is thankful for it, but that doesn't mean he's a big fan of Vitaminamulch being front and center. (As long as it's not on his plane, he'll tolerate it.)

Firefighter flight suit is just Blade's spare suit customized for Dusty. The Air Attack team get their entertainment (read: teasing) out of it.

Skipper;

His old flight suit and the fresh new one he got when he returns to the Flysenhower.

Blade;

Gave him a cap while deployed to fight fire, just to match his og character design. Also, he's more serious while on active duty.

Dipper;

No major changes, I like her design the way she is.

Windlifter;

Decides to add the shades he tried at the Lodge because it actually looks cute on him lol. Maru didn't lie when he said he look good.

Cabbie;

Was debating on giving him a prosthetic right arm, but am not sure how well that'd work with his career as an aerial firefighter.

Smokejumpers: (top-bottom: Dynamite, Drip, Blackout, Pinecone, and Avalanche.)

Clockwise from top-left: Their wildland firefighting uniform without their gears; casuals while on duty; and their smokejumpers' jumpsuit also without all the gears.

I still haven't decided between having Cabbie's C119 as an air tanker or as the smokejumpers' jump plane.

Maru and Patch;

Every guys here are baby face except for Maru lol. (I would give Skipper some facial hair, but Leadbottom already shown us how a plane with similar nose cowling can depicts facial hair, and I have a hard time getting out of that "babyface Skipper" mindset since.)

CHoPs;

The only major change was which way Nick's fringe swept to.

Height comparison. (I'm too lazy to draw it myself so have chart instead.)

Tried cramming the entire Air Attack crew in one, but Patch was just... a bar. (My ass can't read that "Maximum 10" alright?) Splitting it in two to fit more people in;

And I still forgot Skipper smh. For simplicity sake, he's the same height as Blade (I couldn't be bothered atp).

[bekolxeram]

No, OMG! I'm so sorry if my ask came off this way. I was genuinely curious if there was any way this could work, hence the question. I used to believe it was Tommy who flew the plane, but once I saw your explanation, I actually subscribed to your view. It does seem more believable. I wish it was Tommy, but I think you're right, it wouldn't make much sense. I was just curious if Tim and the writers were to confirm in the future that it was indeed Tommy who flew that plane, whether it would be at least somewhat believable. That was the purpose of my ask. I didn't mean to disregard your theories. I'm sorry. I LOVE your aviation analyses; I even sent you a coffee from the Kinley cafe 🫣 I hope you don't stop. Whenever I see you posted something, I have this huge smile on my face because I know I'm about to read a banger of a post. It's all so interesting!

Noooo, it’s not you. I actually really appreciate your asks. And thank you for the Kinley Café order, you have no idea how happy it made me.

I don’t get asks often, but since the 8x02 title reveal I’ve gotten a few, all aviation related. I’ve been… honestly, elated. I have the chance to yap about my passion and do deep dives on stuff that never crossed my mind before. Sometimes I get carried away, I’m very much incapable of being normal about planes. Ever since I saw those planes in bts photos, my brain has been bustling with ideas, and at times I click rb/reply before thinking because I get too excited. I would worry later that I might’ve forced my theories on others without being asked about them. But it’s not like they’re harmful rhetorics or antagonistic hot takes, just an info dump about a lot of planes. So people can ignore and I’ll move on.

I especially enjoyed doing research on that C-130 in 2x14, I learned a lot about aerial firefighting in the process. I didn’t pay attention back then, but I noticed the lack of airplanes when Tommy was giving Buck the tour in 7x04, so I went back and found the line from the TV reporter saying it was CAL FIRE.

I suspect that line was shoved in there last minute, because some technical consultants told them firefighting air tankers are never used in an urban environment, the weight of water/fire retardant can flatten cars, houses, it has gotten multiple people killed. I can think of more instances where the emergency seems unrealistic at first, but then there’s a passing line making it kind of possible, just exaggerated. I know we always joke about Tim writing soap opera level surreal emergencies, but I feel like all the other people involved in the making of this show don’t get enough credit, especially those designing the opening big disasters.

I’ve noticed multiple times that shortly after posting stuff about Tommy’s pilot career, a post would pop up in the tag asking people to stop obsessing over timeline. I paid them no mind before, they were probably not personal I thought, a subsection of the fandom does have the habit to use Tommy’s age to call him a predator. But this time, well, my theory was mentioned by name, so they were talking about me.

I can handle bad takes or even attacks from the toxic part of the fandom, I don’t value their opinion at all. Seeing rb after rb from people on our side of the fandom, some of whom I admire, basically telling me to stop being so obsessive over realism, being compared to fans who nitpick certain actors’ accents, tattoos, grooming choices, that one stings harder than I thought.

I know I’m being thin-skinned, I’m making everything about me, I’m fully aware that I’m a disaster. But I find myself hesitating to answer the other aviation related asks in my inbox, one of them particularly asking about the possibility of certain scenario in real life. I’m just not sure my input is welcomed here. I have this fear of unknowingly annoying people with my over-enthusiasm. I feel like that kid who keeps yapping about trains at school that everyone secretly hates again.

I just really, really love aviation. I thoroughly enjoy uniting these 2 things that I love and maybe learn new things from it. I don’t mean to impose. I was very excited this morning when I received asks in my inbox, but now it feels like being slammed back onto the ground, and it’s not a good feeling. I don’t know, maybe it’s time to uncouple these 2 things.

[usafphantom2]

German Eurofighters Make Record-Breaking Flight With Help From Private Aerial Refueling Company

Three of the German fighters were airborne for more than 10 hours during a flight between Japan and Hawaii with the help of Metrea aerial refueling company.

Posted on Jul 27, 2024 1:34 PM EDT

Three German Eurofighter EF2000s have completed a record-breaking endurance flight for the multirole fighter. Remaining in the air for a total of 10 hours 31 minutes, the trio of combat aircraft flew from Japan to Hawaii today, supported by aerial refueling tankers that included KC-135 Stratotankers operated by private aerospace firm Metrea, a contractor-owned and operated aerial refueling business that recently acquired of 14 KC-135s from the French Air and Space Force.

Luftwaffe

Three German Eurofighter EF2000s have completed a record-breaking endurance flight for the multirole fighter. Remaining in the air for a total of 10 hours 31 minutes, the trio of combat aircraft flew from Japan to Hawaii today, supported by aerial refueling tankers that included KC-135 Stratotankers operated by private aerospace firm Metrea, a contractor-owned and operated aerial refueling business that recently acquired 14 additional KC-135s from the French Air and Space Force.

The long-distance flight, part of the Pacific Skies exercise, which you can read more about here, began with the three Eurofighters taking off from Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido, Japan — where they had been taking part in the Nippon Skies 24 drill — at 9:02 a.m. local time.

Multiple refuelings were required to get the aircraft to Hawaii, including tankers flying from Guam, according to the official account from the Luftwaffe.

While eight refuelings were planned, the fourth scheduled refueling wasn’t required, with sufficient fuel already having been delivered by the first tanker. The sixth refueling rendezvous was also not required, due to a good tailwind.

“Never before has a Eurofighter been in the air for longer than this,” the Luftwaffe live-blogged, as the mission came to its conclusion. “After 10 hours and 31 minutes, the fighter jet touched down at Hickam Air Force Base in Pearl Harbor at 12:33 a.m. local time. Naturally, we toasted this with a Guinness.”

The three Luftwaffe Eurofighter pilots at Hickam after completing their long-duration flight. Luftwaffe

Now they are in Hawaii, the three German Eurofighters will take part in this year’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) international maritime warfare exercise alongside ships from the German Navy, and ships and aircraft from other nations.

Reportedly, the previous longest-duration Eurofighter mission involved an eight-hour and 36-minute flight by U.K. Royal Air Force Typhoons, when they were engaged in operations against Islamic State in the Middle East, on September 23, 2017.

It’s unclear how many tankers were involved in supporting the latest Luftwaffe mission, although at least one was provided by Metrea. We have also reached out to the company for more information. A video published by the Luftwaffe shows the Eurofighter flown by the detachment leader taking on fuel from one of Metrea’s KC-135s, using the probe-and-drogue method.

Metrea’s Jon “Ty” Thomas, head of the company’s Air and Space Group, did provide The War Zone with the following congratulatory statement about its Luftwaffe clients:

“We are proud to support our partners in the German Air Force as they executed this complex movement from Japan to Hawaii. 10.5 hours is a new record for the Eurofighter. Long flights over the Pacific are never simple, with few divert options and challenging weather. Ausgezeichnet, Luftwaffe! The German Air Force did an excellent job. I’m equally proud of our team at Metrea, who prepared and executed this mission with excellence. We look forward to more support for the German Air Force as part of Pacific Skies 2024.”

While the duration of the mission itself is an impressive achievement, it’s just as notable that it was enabled, at least in part, by contractor-owned and operated aerial refueling assets.

The mission comes in the same month that Metrea announced it was to dramatically expand its business with the purchase of 14 KC-135 tankers from the French Air and Space Force.

Transfer of ownership of the KC-135FR tankers to Metrea took place on June 26, according to a company press release, and the company said it planned to have the first of these aircraft flying under its banner “within weeks.”

Private aerospace firm Metrea has bought France's entire fleet of KC-135 tanker in a major new bet on contractor aerial refueling services.

One of Metrea’s ex-Republic of Singapore Air Force KC-135R tankers. Metrea

Metrea

Metrea currently operates four KC-135Rs it previously acquired from the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

With the French tankers now added, Metrea’s tanker fleet is by some margin the largest in private hands — in fact, it owns more aerial refueling aircraft than all but four air forces worldwide.

Providing refueling support to German Eurofighters underlines the thinking behind Metrea’s business model.

Earlier this month, “Ty” Thomas told The War Zone that the KC-135 had been “very deliberately chosen… as our platform of choice.”

Thomas continued: “From the perspective of a receiver, whether it’s a U.S. military receiver, or a NATO or an… otherwise allied receiver aircraft, if they find themselves in a position where they need help from the United States… and it includes help in terms of air refueling, what is the most likely tanker that’s going to pull out there in front of their receiver? It’s gonna be a KC-135. Why? Because the vast majority of tankers in the USAF inventory still remain KC-135s. And will even for probably the next 10 years or so.”

A KC-135 from private aerospace firm Metrea refueling Warthogs during an exercise in October 2023 marked the first time a contractor-operated tanker had ever linked up with U.S. Air Force tactical jets. Metrea

For Metrea, supporting the Luftwaffe’s long-distance flight is just the latest in a series of milestones.

These include the first use of a contractor-owned and operated tanker to refuel an aircraft via boom, the first commercial aerial refueling of any U.S. Air Force aircraft, and the first-ever use of a private tanker to refuel Air Force tactical combat jets (A-10 Warthogs) in April, June, and October 2023, respectively.

Nevertheless, as is so often the case with supporting tanker assets, it will be the German Eurofighters and their pilots and maintainers that win the plaudits for today’s record-breaking flight.

Of course, that is hardly undeserved, especially as the mission puts a spotlight on the German Armed Forces’ increasing focus on the Asia-Pacific theater, a reality that’s now reflected across several of Europe’s NATO nations.

Once again though, today’s long-distance flight reinforces the old adage, “nobody kicks ass without tanker gas,” and it’s increasingly the case that those tankers are being provided by private contractors as well as air forces.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

[cetaceous]

MV Atlas Voyager, Crude Oil Tanker, New Orleans, Louisiana Owner: Atlas Maritime, Athens, Greece Red Wing Aerial Photography, San Antonio, Texas image credit: Red Wing Aerials

[taraross-1787]

This Day in History: The Broken Arrow Incident of 1961

On this day in 1961, a B-52G Stratofortress disintegrates over the skies of North Carolina. As it breaks up, it inadvertently releases two Mark 39 thermonuclear bombs.

Miraculously, neither exploded.

The world was then in the midst of the Cold War, and the United States kept B-52 bombers in the sky at all times. These bombers were armed with nuclear warheads.

On the night of January 23-24, one such plane was in the sky, commanded by Maj. Walter Tulloch. The crew was about halfway through its shift, and the bomber was preparing for an aerial refueling.

It wasn’t to be: The tanker’s crew could see that the bomber was leaking fuel.

The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-broken-arrow-incident

[planesawesome]

An F-16 Fighting Falcon fitted with radio frequency identification tags pulls in behind an NKC-135 Stratotanker during an aerial flight test April 7, 2010. The mission is to test the Automatic Receiver Aircraft Identification system installed on the NKC-135 test tanker. (U.S. Air Force photo/Chad Bellay)

[frogblast-the-ventcore]

KF-21 Boramae conducts its first ever aerial refueling via a ROKAF KC-330 tanker.

[nocternalrandomness]

IAF arriving at RAF Waddington in an IL-78 for Cobra Warrior '23

[ghostwarriorrrr]

[cheezyharu]

Ok, lore pt. 2. Let's do this.

(Again, under cut since it'll be a LONG post)

Resonant Gems have been existing for a long time, and are known to be the only item than can effectively defeat the Sombria.

We don't know the origin of these gems, aside from the theories of it and the Sombria's connections to the Aerial Ruins, but blueprints and several gems have been passed down through generations, allowing us to continuously producing and using it.

In its base form, it's just a simple, white gemstone. However, once "resonated" with it, which involves the user interacting with the gem, it should be able to grant its user the ability to control certain aspects, or the natural elements of the world. (After the first resonation, it should be noted that the gem will change its color into something closer to its owner's eye color.)

Another peculiar thing about these gems is that, after its owner had passed, it can be inherited by another person who, under special circumstances, can continue using it. Otherwise, if no one can continue resonating with it, it would simply become just a normal gem: a souvenir, nothing more, nothing less.

As for the Illuminaires, it is a special force formed by the Luxuvius family after they took over the throne around 500 years ago to combat against the rampant number of Sombrias. There are five existing classes: strikers, tankers, supporters, rangers, and healers, which will be registered by an Illuminaire when they first became a trainee, and cannot be changed. All Illuminaires are to be assigned into teams of four to battle together.

That shall be all for the briefing about Resonant Gems and Illuminaires, I hope you have found this to be useful information.

-S.H.

...

"Say, have you heard of the Original Gem theory?"

"The one about the earlier editions of these gems are more powerful than the more recent ones? I've heard, yes."

"Yeah, that. So Ruby was been investigating the ruins earlier in the week, and... he found something."

"...?"

"Yeah. From what bit that was translated..." "... The first Resonant Gem to be created is known as the 'Aquamarine of Origin'... and it can vaporize literal armies of Sombrias in one fell swoop."

"...Huh."

[mariacallous]

The Greek coast guard has rejected the findings of a BBC investigation into the fatal shipwreck off Pylos, which showed that the migrant fishing boat was not moving for many hours before it sank.

The coastguard claims that during these hours the boat was still on course for Italy.

“From the time of its detection until its sinking, the specific fishing vessel traveled a total of about 30 nautical miles,” the Greek coast guard said on Monday in a press release.

In its Sunday report, the BBC said the fishing vessel was stationary for hours. Data from MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics, shows that the movement of other ships in the area proves that the vessel did not move for at least seven hours before capsizing.

“All of the shipping activity of the previous seven hours was focused around one specific spot, suggesting the migrant boat had hardly moved. The scale of the animated map suggests it traveled less than a few nautical miles, which may be expected of a stricken vessel buffeted by the wind and the waves in the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea,” said the BBC.

The cited animated map did not depict the fishing boat as it didn’t have a tracker, and coastguard and military vessels do not have to share their location.

At least 78 migrants were found dead on June 14 after the fishing boat, allegedly with 400 to 750 people on board, sunk off Pylos in the Peloponnese. So far, 104 migrants have been rescued. The number of people missing remains unknown.

The Greek coast guard said the boat, from the moment of its detection on June 13, traveled a total of 24 nautical miles.

Later that afternoon, the vessel was approached by two tankers offering assistance. The fishing boat initially moved away but finally stopped and accepted food supplies – a process that lasted four hours and 30 minutes.

“After this process was completed, the occupants began to throw the supplies into the sea,” the Greek coast guard said.

The Greek authorities claim that in the evening hours, a Greek coast guard vessel arrived in the area and spotted the boat moving at a low speed; it tried to approach it to verify its current situation. The ship stopped but continued on its way.

“From the moment the refueling process was completed until it was immobilized, due to mechanical failure, the fishing boat traveled a distance of about 6 nautical miles,” the Greek coast guard said.

Watch The Med Alarm Phone, a hotline for boat people in distress, wrote that the Greek authorities had been warned many hours before the boat capsized that it was in distress.

A coast guard press release stated that Italian authorities informed them about the vessel, spotted by an EU border protection agency FRONTEX aerial vehicle and by two ships. A Greek boat sailed to the spot, while a helicopter took off at the same time.

The coast guard claims that three hours before the boat sank, they dropped ropes on the vessel to ascertain its condition.

“This process lasted a few minutes, and then, after the small cortages [small ropes] were resolved by the migrants themselves, the Coast Guard vessel moved away and watched the fishing vessel from a close distance,” the statement added.

Nine Egyptians, alleged to be the traffickers in the deadly shipwreck, face serious charges of forming a criminal organisation, causing a shipwreck by negligence, and endangering life. They were testifying on Monday to the magistrate.

Pakistan’s authorities have arrested 10 people accused of human trafficking involved in the Pylos case. It is estimated that up to 300 people on board were from Pakistan.