F16 Falcon fighter jet refuels mid-flight

An F16 Fighting Falcon refuels in the sky at 30,000 feet above the ground. This is truly an extraordinary scene!Show more

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft, originally developed by General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) for the United States Air Force. Originally designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft.

The F-16's official name is "Fighting Falcon", but "Viper" is commonly used by its pilots and crews, due to a perceived resemblance to a viper snake as well as the Colonial Viper starfighter on TV science fiction show Battlestar Galactica.

Usually, the aircraft providing the fuel in mid-air refueling is specially designed for the task, although refueling pods can be fitted to existing aircraft designs if the "probe-and-drogue" system is to be used. The cost of the refueling equipment on both tanker and receiver aircraft and the specialized aircraft handling of the aircraft to be refueled (very close "line astern" formation flying) has resulted in the activity only being used in military operations. There is no known regular civilian in-flight refueling activity. (source: Wikipedia)