By Dean Murray via SWNS
Incredible pictures show a transport helicopter being refueled in mid-air – while hoisting a fighter jet.
The tricky maneuver by the U.S. Marines required precision flying skills as a CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter transported an F-35C Lightning II warplane.
The jet was being moved from the Patuxent River air base in Maryland to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, on 24 April.
The most powerful helicopter in the Department of Defense carried the inoperable airframe, which was without mission and propulsion systems, to the Prototype, Manufacturing and Test (PMT) Department of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst for use in future emergency recovery systems testing.
Celebrating the operation, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division commented: “Bravo Zulu (naval signal for ‘well done’) to the many partners who played a role in the success of the mission!”
