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July 12, 2017 20:07
Israel's fleet of Boeing 707 Re'em aircraft are nearing 60 years old
The Israel Air Force has bought a Boeing 707 from the Brazilian Air Force to use for parts as part of a major upgrade of its tanker fleet.
The plane was bought several months ago in a contract worth $410,000, according to the Defense Ministry.
The IAF Re’em (Boeing 707) refueler aircraft, many which are nearing 60 years old, are needed for long-range missions.
The Defense Ministry is believed to be considering leasing Boeing KC-46A air tankers to replace the 707’s,
and while the air force has begun initial talks
to consider the option of using some American military aid to buy new tanker aircraft,
they are considered relatively expensive.
The air force’s Re’em planes, the number of which remains classified, are former civilian aircraft adapted for military uses such as aerial refueling for fighter jets, as well as for transport aircraft.
Able to carry 20 extra fuel tanks while modified for aerial refueling, the planes are able to be adapted to carry passengers as well as cargo such as military equipment and ammunition from the United States, the officer said.
In August 2015, Re’em Squadron planes set the record for the longest direct IAF flight,
when they flew 14,500 km. from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada
to Israel, after participating in Red Flag,
the main Israeli-American air forces training exercise.
The long journey to Nevada had taken three days,
with several tankers prepositioned
in Spain and at Lajes Air Base on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portugal, in the mid-Atlantic, before they flew to Bangor, Maine, and then finally to Nellis.
“It was a really complex exercise which demonstrated exactly how far we can go.
To land several tankers and 200 air crew on a small island in the mid-Atlantic shows the power of the air force,” the officer said,
explaining that Israel is one of the few countries participating in the Red Flag Exercise that gets there alone.
“Other countries receive aerial refueling from the Americans. We choose not to on purpose.”
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