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Unfamiliar word? Select a dotted-underlined term for its meaning.
Two separate fuel reserves
Tanker REFUEL replenishes F, not AF.
Find the two values
- Open ACTIVE OPS and find the tanker by its callsign. Its flight row shows F…% AF…%. Check the aircraft type and task so you are reading the correct tanker.
- Read F to judge the tanker’s own remaining fuel. Read AF to check its supply for other aircraft.
- Check its location and status in ACTIVE OPS. Fuel aboard a tanker that is still waiting to take off, returning home or landing is not an available refuelling service.
- Before sending an aircraft to it, check that aircraft’s fuel and the distance it must travel. Use the fighter REFUEL procedure or the AWACS and Nimrod procedure.
Two examples
| Example display | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| F70% AF5% | The tanker still has much of its own flight fuel, but little left to pass to other aircraft. Arrange a replacement before relying on it for more refuelling. |
| F15% AF80% | The tanker has plenty of fuel listed for other aircraft, but its own flight fuel is low. Its need to refuel or return still matters. |
Do not add the percentages
F and AF describe separate fuel amounts. F70% plus AF5% does not make one tank 75% full. Nor does AF50% on different tanker types necessarily mean the same number of kilograms is available.
What does TANKER DRY mean?
TANKER DRY means the fuel it can supply is almost exhausted. When it is flying to its working area or around its assigned pattern, the tanker then starts RTB. It can still have fuel for its own flight. “Dry” here does not mean its engines have run out of fuel.
What do JOKER and BINGO mean for the tanker?
These warnings concern the tanker’s own flight fuel. The game can look for another tanker to supply it; if no suitable help is available, it may return to land. Read the current task and fuel warnings rather than assuming a high AF value lets it stay indefinitely.
Does REFUEL restore the fuel it gives to fighters?
The tanker-to-tanker REFUEL operation replenishes the tanker’s own flight fuel. It does not refill its separate AF supply. Watch F rise to confirm fuel is arriving, then check its next task. See how to refuel a tanker and what happens after landing.
Why did fuel stop arriving?
Check whether the supplying tanker has started RTB, begun landing, disappeared or run low on AF. A new order or a nearby tanker symbol does not prove fuel is transferring. Watch the fuel of the aircraft that needs it. If fuel is getting too low to wait, arrange another suitable tanker or bring the aircraft home.