Caught this image of five KC-135Rs, all from McConnell AFB in Kansas, heading to Southern Europe or the Middle East. McConnell is home to the USAF 22 ARW (Air Refueling Wing) and the USAFR 931 ARW. Although still new to ADS-B Exchange, I thought it interesting, especially being from the same point of origin.
Good catch, yo!! If you ever see that type of formation flying over your location, see if you can spot them in the sky. When they roll in those types of formations, it's not uncommon for them to be formed up with a couple B2 pals as a means to obfuscate movements. I never got an answer when I asked if they were aware that the giant lightbulb in the sky goes bye bye every so often, and... Well... I just left it at that.
Thanks, I was wondering whether the KC-135s might be part of a non-broadcast group, like a fighter drag. Never thought of the B-2 angle!
Yeah, they do have the zero emission requirement associated with a number of their mission profiles, a number of which involve multiple platforms. There are a few which are dynamic in nature regarding the formation types and lead rotation movements, all which demand some way to maintain a simple means to communicate, the solution of which I wish I could say because it's ridiculously hysterical. Let's just say that what they came up with is absolutely apropos relative to the age of those old birds! If you think you know, it's probably too advanced!!!
Ok, I'll bite. If I had that requirement, I'd just flash directed lights at each other, similar to what they did on ships 100 years ago. Just because a technique is old doesn't mean it stops working. If I was being fancy, I'd use LEDs and flash them fast enough to encode a digital audio signal (similar to what they did for some early wireless headphones).
