NATO Multirole Tanker Transport aircraft refuels fighter jets during Exercise Cold Response

Credit: Courtesy | Date Taken: 03/22/2022
The Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport Unit (MMU) is supporting the long-planned exercise Cold Response 22 in Norway. Training together with NATO Allies, the main role of the MMU is to provide air-to-air refuelling capabilities. Cold Response 22 ensures NATO Allies are capable of carrying out complex joint operations in the harshest of environments. Footage includes shots of a NATO Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) Airbus A330 aircraft, Norwegian F-35s and a Swedish JAS 39 Gripen participating in the exercise. With soundbites from the chief pilot of the MMU Forward Operating Base in Cologne, Germany and the air-to-air refuelling operator of the MMU. ---SHOTLIST— (00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – INSIDE THE COCKPIT OF THE MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT (AIRBUS A330) (01:19) WIDE SHOT – WING OF THE MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT (01:24) CLOSE SHOT – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 AIRCRAFT IN CLOSE FORMATION (01:32) VARIOUS SHOTS – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 AIRCRAFT IN CLOSE FORMATION (01:51) CLOSE SHOT – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 AIRCRAFT WAITING TO BE REFUELLED (02:08) WIDE SHOT – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 AIRCRAFT AND FALCON DA20ECM BANKING TO THE RIGHT (02:24) VARIOUS SHOTS – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 AIRCRAFT AND FALCON DA20ECM IN CLOSE FORMATION (02:34) VARIOUS SHOT – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 AIRCRAFT AND FALCON DA20ECM JOINED BY ANOTHER F-35 AFTER REFUELLING (02:49) CLOSE SHOT – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 WAITING TO BE REFUELLED (02:55) VARIOUS SHOT – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 WAITING TO BE REFUELLED (03:17) WIDE SHOT – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 MOVING IN TO REFUELLING POSITION (03:30) VARIOUS SHOT – ROYAL NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE F-35 AIRCRAFT IN CLOSE FORMATION (03:56) CLOSE SHOT – MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT HOSE AND DROGUE UNIT (04:01) CLOSE SHOT – SWEDISH SAAB JAS 39 GRIPEN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT MOVING BELOW THE MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT HOSE AND DROGUE UNIT (04:06) CLOSE SHOT – SWEDISH SAAB JAS 39 GRIPEN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT IN PRE-CONTACT REFUELLING POSITION WITH THE MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT HOSE AND DROGUE UNIT (04:11) VARIOUS SHOT – SWEDISH SAAB JAS 39 GRIPEN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT (04:37) WIDE SHOT – MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT RETRACTING THE HOSE AND DROGUE UNIT (04:42) VARIOUS SHOTS – INSIDE THE COCKPIT OF THE MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT ON APPROACH TO COLOGNE BUTZWEILERHOF AIRPORT (05:16) VARIOUS SHOTS – INSIDE THE COCKPIT OF THE MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT ON FINAL APPROACH TO COLOGNE BUTZWEILERHOF AIRPORT (05:41) VARIOUS SHOTS – INSIDE THE COCKPIT OF THE MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT AS IT TAXIS BACK FROM RUNWAY HAVING LANDED AT COLOGNE BUTZWEILERHOF AIRPORT (05:56) SOUNDBITES – LT COL CHRISTIAN K. – CHIEF PILOT OF THE MMU FORWARD OPERATING BASE, MULTINATIONAL MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT UNIT (MMU) “Air-to-air refuelling is a big enhancer, so that gives the receiving units either the opportunity to have more load out with them or to extend their mission duration. And of course, if you're air policing that takes some time, and then if they want to extend their station time to the max extent and then therefore they’ll need the tankers.” (06:19) SOUNDBITES – LT COL CHRISTIAN K. – CHIEF PILOT OF THE MMU FORWARD OPERATING BASE, MULTINATIONAL MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT UNIT (MMU) “There are multiple other NATO exercises which are conducted year by year. So it's just a regular training environment that we are participating in right now and this is not in relation to any conflict in the world.” (06:32) SOUNDBITES – LT COL CHRISTIAN K. – CHIEF PILOT OF THE MMU FORWARD OPERATING BASE, MULTINATIONAL MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT UNIT (MMU) “So we are somewhere in an area supporting any air-to-air assets which require fuel that might be, today in Norwegian for Cold Response. The next day, it might be air policing in the Baltics, where we also conduct air-to-air refuelling with the assets to support these kinds of missions.” (06:55) SOUNDBITES – WO KOEN L. – AIR-TO-AIR REFUELLING OPERATOR, MULTINATIONAL MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT UNIT (MMU) “My job is to provide the receivers with fuel. There are two possible ways to provide the receivers with fuel on this aircraft. We have the hose and drogue system underneath the wing and we have the boom underneath the tail.” (07:09) SOUNDBITES – WO KOEN L. – AIR-TO-AIR REFUELING OPERATOR, MULTINATIONAL MULTIROLE TANKER TRANSPORT UNIT (MMU) “Today's mission, we provide support for the Cold Response exercise. Together with our Allied partners, we're doing this exercise to maintain our level of proficiency and to improve our skills. It's a multinational exercise. We as MRTT are a multinational unit as well. Today we had a couple of F-35 receivers, and the job was to give them fuel for their mission in the theatre.