F-4E Phantom II

An air-to-air right side view of an 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron F-4E Phantom II aircraft releasing 18 Mark-82 500-pound bombs over the Bardenas Reales Gunnery Range. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. David Nolan)

F-4 Phantom II

An F-4 Phantom II practices Oct. 23, 2009, for the Southwest Open House at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. The F-4 is assigned to the 82nd Aerial Targeting Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Chris Flahive)

KC-135 Stratotanker

An Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker from the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron refuels a Royal Air Force GR-4 Tornado over Iraq using the multi-point refueling system. With MPRS, Air Force tankers have the versatility to refuel Air Force, Navy and coalition aircraft all in the same mission. On Feb. 26, Air Force, Royal Air Force and French tankers flew 34 sorties and off-loaded almost 2.2 million pounds of fuel. (Royal Air Force photo)

KC-135 Stratotanker

A KC-135 Stratotanker from Grand Forks Air Force Base N.D., refuels an F-22 Raptor from Edwards AFB, Calif. Jan. 18. A refueling team from Grand Forks will be the lead tanker unit at an upcoming Red Flag exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo/Darin Russell)

KC-135E Stratotanker

A KC-135E Stratotanker, flown by Maj. Paul Sheehan, aircraft commander, Capt. John Wahleithner, co-pilot, and Maj. Rob Mazzie, navigator during a Operation Noble Eagle training patrol March 16. The three airmen are from the 940th Aerial Refueling Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

KC-135 Stratotanker

A KC-135 Stratotanker refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon. Air Force Secretary Dr. James G. Roche concluded testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Sept. 4. He answered questions about the 2004 Air Force Tanker Lease Proposal, which would replace ageing KC-135s with leased KC-767s. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Mike Buytas)