The first strategic tanking test with a probe-equipped F-35B and a KC-135 with wingtip hose and drogue refueling units was carried out on the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division test facility range near NAS Patuxent River, Maryland on 24 July 2013. This test was strictly a contact test and no fuel was transferred. Marine test pilot Lt. Col. Patrick Moran was at the controls of F-35 BF-02 on Flight 266. The KC-135 is assigned to McConnell AFB, Kansas.
