Damaged KC-135 63-8028 Reaches RAF Mildenhall as Iran War Losses Top 40 Aircraft

7 articles · Updated · The War Zone · May 26

KC-135 63-8028 arrived at RAF Mildenhall from Ben Gurion on Saturday showing extensive shrapnel patching on its tail and flaps, with its refueling boom missing entirely.
FlightRadar24 data complicates where it was hit: the tanker was logged at Tel Aviv the day before and after Iran's March 14 strike on Prince Sultan Air Base, where five tankers were reportedly damaged.
Mildenhall has now seen at least a second battle-damaged KC-135 transit through Europe, likely before deeper repair work at Tinker Air Force Base's Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex.
More than 40 aircraft were damaged or destroyed during Operation Epic Fury, including shrapnel-hit tankers and a March mid-air KC-135 collision over Iraq that killed six crew on one jet.
The tanker damage sits within wider losses from Iranian attacks that the Washington Post said hit at least 228 structures or equipment pieces across U.S. military sites in the Middle East.

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