The U.S. is sending a number of KC-135 tankers to Greece a Pentagon spokesman confirmed on Tuesday as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its third week.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby explained that the tankers would “provide additional aerial refueling support to the commander of U.S. European Command,” adding that there has been no change to President Biden’s decision against deploying U.S. forces to Ukraine.
The tankers are part of a new deployment of 500 U.S. troops aimed at bolstering NATO’s eastern flank.
The KC-135 Stratotankers will deploy to Souda Bay, Greece, and the remaining U.S. forces will head to Poland, Germany, and Romania. Kirby said that the troops in Poland and Romania will “provide additional command and control for U.S. European Command flight operations.”
Tankers based in Greece can double the combat radius of jets
These tankers could, for instance, enable a land-launched F-35A to double its combat radius, an article in the National Interest explains.