# What would prompt fighter jets to escort a plane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391 "2010-11-21T01:26:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/1 "2010-11-21T01:26:05Z")
Hopefully this is in the right forum. I figured there must be factual answers! This afternoon at just after 2:00 pm Mountain Time, I was standing in my back yard in Calgary, Alberta. I looked to the sky, approximately NE, and I saw a large aircraft being escorted by six or seven jets. There was nothing on the news tonight about it, so I guess it’s not a huge deal. But it got me to wondering what might have been going on. Was some important person (US President maybe?) flying over? Just a suspicious aircraft that was resolved? Can I find this information anywhere online? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/2 "2010-11-21T01:30:17Z")
A fighter wing being deployed from one base to another, with a tanker for mid-air refueling? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/3 "2010-11-21T01:46:33Z")
I don’t know if it’s different when he leaves the country (especially if it’s just to go to Canada), but in the US, Air Force 1 isn’t escorted by fighter jets. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/4 "2010-11-21T01:54:17Z")
It was undoubtedly a mid-air refueling. The fighters take turns on the boom and remain in formation otherwise. Given that it was happening over Canada I would suspect that the fighters were on their way somewhere else and needed to hit the tanker to increase their notoriously short range, because when my unit does mid-air refueling practice we typically go over water somewhere so if something goes wrong we don’t rain flaming parts all over someone’s home. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/5 "2010-11-21T02:03:44Z")
Also worth noting that the KC-10 tanker is based on a DC-10 airliner, so easily mistaken for one. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/6 "2010-11-21T02:13:00Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > It was undoubtedly a mid-air refueling. The fighters take turns on the boom and remain in formation otherwise. Given that it was happening over Canada I would suspect that the fighters were on their way somewhere else and needed to hit the tanker to increase their notoriously short range, because when my unit does mid-air refueling practice we typically go over water somewhere so if something goes wrong we don’t rain flaming parts all over someone’s home. Thanks! Though these guys weren’t over water, I guess they wouldn’t have been over the city either. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/7 "2010-11-21T02:13:56Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Also worth noting that the KC-10 tanker is based on a DC-10 airliner, so easily mistaken for one. And the KC-135 tanker is a modified Boeing 707, so it is also easily mistaken for an airliner. ---
**Author:** ![StrangerThanFiction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@StrangerThanFiction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangerThanFiction)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/8 "2010-11-21T02:13:57Z")
As the others have mentioned, fighters have small fuel tanks and thirsty engines. When they need to reposition to somewhere far away, they often just fly in formation with a tanker the whole way and top off as needed. Sometimes the fighters are dependent on the tankers for navigation as well as fuel when they are crossing oceans. The tanker crews refer to these missions as fighter drags. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/9 "2010-11-21T02:20:41Z")
> [@StrangerThanFiction](#): > > As the others have mentioned, fighters have small fuel tanks and thirsty engines. When they need to reposition to somewhere far away, they often just fly in formation with a tanker the whole way and top off as needed. Sometimes the fighters are dependent on the tankers for navigation as well as fuel when they are crossing oceans. The tanker crews refer to these missions as fighter drags. How far can a fighter get on a tank? It always seemed odd to me that there’s a refueling wing in Milwaukee. More or less right in the middle of North America (I know, I know, not really). It always seemed to me that if there was a need for a fighter to go from one side of the states to the other it would just be easier to leave it where it was and use a jet that’s already over there. IOW, who’s getting fueled up over Wisconsin? Or as Airman eluded to, does it have something to do with a there being a giant (Great even) lake right there for them to work over? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/10 "2010-11-21T02:30:31Z")
With the exception of a few of the fighter wings tasked to border/continental air defense, the reason why units end up where they are is more a question of politics. I mean, why would a bomber unit need to be based in Missouri, like the B-2s at Whiteman? For most of their history they staged out of Whiteman and returned there after every flight, meaning that they had to fly over half of the US on the way in and the way out, an obvious waste of fuel. There’s no reason why there needs to be a refueling wing in Milwaukee. Why it’s there is nothing more or less than a political consideration, just as it is with bases themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/11 "2010-11-21T02:34:44Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > It always seemed to me that if there was a need for a fighter to go from one side of the states to the other it would just be easier to leave it where it was and use a jet that’s already over there. All hands forward, lay aft! All hands aft, lay forward! All hands amidships stand by to direct traffic! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/12 "2010-11-21T03:21:01Z")
Combat range of some fighter planes: [Radius of action - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_radius) Earlier this year a tanker pilot refueled a fighter that was flown by her husband. It was not planned, it just worked out that the tanker she piloted was the one available when her husband’s fighter needed fuel. It was in either Iraq or Afghanistan. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/13 "2010-11-21T04:02:05Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > IOW, who’s getting fueled up over Wisconsin? Dunno, but, growing up in Green Bay, I can recall several times when I saw refueling maneuvers in the sky above us. ---
**Author:** ![Disgscen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Disgscen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgscen)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/14 "2010-11-22T22:41:44Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > IOW, who’s getting fueled up over Wisconsin? Or as Airman eluded to, does it have something to do with a there being a giant (Great even) lake right there for them to work over? This isn’t a direct response, but planes being refueled from a WI refueling base aren’t necessarily interested in flying over WI. If someone wants a fighter plane somewhere it isn’t, it’ll usually take off, get to altitude, and then refuel for the first time before it really begins the journey. So most of the planes refueled by a WI refueling base would be from Air Force or Air Guard bases within a relatively short distance from there. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/15 "2010-11-22T23:33:11Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > I saw a large aircraft being escorted by six or seven jets. Out of curiosity, was the large aircraft dark or light in color? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/16 "2010-11-23T01:09:38Z")
It can also be because a plane strayed into airspace they don’t belong in. This [happened today](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iPQ1gBz1FVcYjQHbpA-dIWErpqrw?docId=1be5735e94994528864fb24b4255e06c). I believe sending fighters to escort a small plane is a tremendous overreaction, but I don’t get to make the rules. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/17 "2010-11-23T01:20:30Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > Out of curiosity, was the large aircraft dark or light in color? It was too far away for me to tell, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/18 "2010-11-23T07:06:43Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > Hopefully this is in the right forum. I figured there must be factual answers! > > This afternoon at just after 2:00 pm Mountain Time, I was standing in my back yard in Calgary, Alberta. I looked to the sky, approximately NE, and I saw a large aircraft being escorted by six or seven jets. There was nothing on the news tonight about it, so I guess it’s not a huge deal. But it got me to wondering what might have been going on. Was some important person (US President maybe?) flying over? Just a suspicious aircraft that was resolved? Can I find this information anywhere online? > > Thanks! CFB Cold Lake is the Canadian version of Nellis airforce base, and normally hosts an exercise called Maple Flag, similar in some respects as Red Flag is down in Nevada. The area is big enough that you can have full squadrons and wing size units practicing: bombing , air combat, air to air refueling and the like that they may not be able to do at their home base. That may be what was going on. Declan ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/19 "2010-11-23T14:27:19Z")
If fighters were intercepting a wayward airliner, there’d be two fighters. If you saw more than two, it was 99+% certainly a refueling operation. The typical fighter deployment has the fighters launch from their base with as many external fuel tanks as they can carry & all full of fuel. They head towards their destination & are met up by a tanker or tankers someplace down range. Anywhere from 100 to 1000 miles depending on who’s going where. Then they stick together for the rest of the flight to the destination. Enroute, the fighters will refuel not quite continuously, but close. The idea is to keep each fighter as close to full tanks as possible so that if a problem occurs they have the max range to reach a landing field. Over the US that’s not such a worry. Over northern Canada or the middle of the Atlantic it’s more of a concern. Pilots really \*hate \*swimming. If the drag is far enough, they can even suck the tanker “dry” where they tanker has no more fuel to give & still recover itself to a base. If so, a fresh tanker(s) will be launched from a downstream base & meets them in midair. The fighters will leave the original tanker & join the new one for the rest of the trip. As you might imagine, all this takes a wee bit of prior planning to work smoothly. In high altitude cruise & at leisurely cruise speeds, modern fighters have decent range. So you can self-deploy a decent distance, say more than halfway across the US. OTOH … Combat & high-speed low-altitude flight is a whole 'nother world of fuel consumption. Combat ops typically limit the amount of external fuel tanks you can carry because those attachment points are needed for weapons. Plus external tanks reduce manueverability, top speed & increase fuel consumption rates. So you’re much more range limited. A typical combat profile is to launch with a full load of weapons & jamming pod, plus full internal fuel & maybe some external tanks. Tankers are waiting as close to the battle area as is safe for them. The enemy not having an air force (any more) certainly makes that easier. So you hit the tanker, top off, then head into battle. Then do your thing to the bad guys, consuming a lot of fuel in the process. Then head out to safety & hit the tanker on the way home to take on enough gas to be able to make it home. Lather rinse repeat. Meanwhile, the tanker guys are launching a fresh set of tankers every so often to replace the airborne ones as they get sucked dry. And in a big show there might be 5 or 10 or 20 sets of these tanker orbits & fighter streams coming & going. It can make JFK on a Friday night seem pretty tranquil. Your tax dollars hard at work turning dinosaurs into noise & smoke. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391/20 "2010-11-23T16:01:59Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I don’t know if it’s different when he leaves the country (especially if it’s just to go to Canada), but in the US, Air Force 1 isn’t escorted by fighter jets. Since the OP has been answered let me hijack…it must be “isn’t always escorted by fighter jets” because I saw AF1 land at St. Louis from my seat on an outbound flight (we were diverted and had to wait while AF1 landed) and two fighters followed the plane in until it touched down. It was one of the coolest things I have ever had a chance to witness. -rainy [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-prompt-fighter-jets-to-escort-a-plane/561391.md?page=2)