How does air-to-air refuelling work?

A tanker passes fuel to another aircraft while both keep flying. Learn the idea, then choose the right REFUEL instructions for your aircraft in Air Defender.

Game controls + real-world concept · v0.8.16.0

Instructions use this version’s reference and controls. Your bindings or a later version may differ.

On this page

Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.

What does REFUEL do in Air Defender?

It asks an aircraft to take fuel from a tanker. The aircraft must reach the tanker and move into position before fuel can pass between them. Check the fuel value: accepting an order is not the same as receiving fuel.

Must my fighter be inside an AARA to take fuel?

In v0.8.16.0, no. An AARA marks an area for refuelling in flight, but a fighter can also take fuel from a suitable tanker outside those markings. Entering an AARA does not put fuel into the fighter’s tanks.

Use the fighter REFUEL steps, then watch its F in ACTIVE OPS while time is running. The aircraft still need to meet and get into the position and height needed for transfer. This describes the game; it is not a rule for real flights.

Choose the instructions for your aircraft

You want to…	Use this guide
Give a fighter more fuel	Send a fighter to a selected tanker.
Refuel an E-3D AWACS or Nimrod	Request a tanker for a support aircraft.
Give a tanker more fuel	Ask a tanker to refuel from another tanker.
Choose where the tanker will fly	Set its TRACK or ANCHOR pattern.
Decide when fuel support is needed	Plan fuel and understand JOKER and BINGO.
Bring an aircraft back to land	Use RTB — Return to Base.

Real world: why refuel without landing?

Taking fuel in the air can let an aircraft fly farther or stay on its task longer. That helps with long journeys, patrols and transporting people or supplies. It is a way of extending a flight, rather than making every flight stop at another airfield.

The words you may hear

Term	Plain meaning
Tanker	The aircraft supplying fuel.
Receiver	The aircraft taking fuel. This could be a fighter or a larger aircraft.
Rendezvous	The planned meeting of the aircraft. Meeting does not mean fuel has already been transferred.
Offload	Fuel the tanker can pass to the other aircraft.
Recovery	Bringing the aircraft back to a suitable airfield to land.

How is the fuel connection made?

System	How it works
Probe and drogue	The tanker trails a flexible hose with a basket-shaped end, called a drogue. The other aircraft has a projecting fuel pipe, called a probe. Its pilot guides the probe into the basket.
Flying boom	The tanker carries a rigid, movable fuel tube. An operator guides it into a matching connection on the other aircraft while that aircraft holds position.

These are real-world refuelling systems. In Air Defender, follow the game’s REFUEL procedure.

Why being nearby is not enough

The aircraft must meet, get into the correct relative position and make a fuel connection. The crews then maintain that position while fuel is transferred. In a modern example from 2022, the RAF’s account of an Atlas meeting a Voyager over the South Atlantic describes the close formation flying and crew coordination involved.

Can any tanker refuel any aircraft?

No. The equipment has to be compatible, and the aircraft combination and procedures need the appropriate approval. For example, NATO reported test flights and certification for refuelling its E-3A aircraft from its A330 tanker fleet in July 2025. This 2025 example concerns real aircraft. Air Defender’s aircraft and refuelling controls are covered in the game guides above.

Put the idea into practice

In the game, check the aircraft that needs fuel, the tanker’s position and the fuel it can supply. Then use the instructions above for that aircraft type. Watch the aircraft meet and check its fuel afterwards. If it needs to come back instead, follow the return-and-landing guide.

Sources & further reading

Further reading on the real-world concepts discussed here. These sources do not document Air Defender’s controls or behaviour.