B-2 Stealth Bomber “Hot Pits” At Indian Ocean Air Base, Positioned Within Striking Range Of Iran
The Middle East has been on edge all week as the world awaits a retaliatory Iranian attack on Israel that could spark a regional conflict. As of Friday, Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah rebels have been exchanging fire, and an oil tanker earlier this week in the southern Red Sea was hit by a missile attack, likely from Iran-backed Houthi forces.
With all eyes on the Middle East, our attention shifts to a “hot pit event” on Wednesday with a Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and US Air Force Airmen assigned to the 110th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at the Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, according to the USAF.
A US Air Force B-2 Spirit is hot pit refueled during a Bomber Task Force mission at Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, Aug. 21.
Hot pitting is an act of having an aircraft land, refuel and take off without shutting its engines down.https://t.co/zq7ELjlXet pic.twitter.com/xi5YWmdOpd
— Ryan Chan 陳家翹 (@ryankakiuchan) August 23, 2024
The US military uses Diego Garcia as a strategic point for launching operations in the Indo-Pacific. The hot pit event allowed the B-2 to land and refuel without shutting its engines down.
“If we lose a tanker or don’t get a tanker for aerial refueling, a hot pit enables us to move our jet from location to location, refuel and complete the mission,” said the 110th EBS deputy commander and B-2 pilot.
USAF noted, “Conducting hot pit events in various locations around the globe enables aircrew and support Airmen to maintain a high state of readiness and proficiency.”
Diego Garcia is located about 1,000 miles off the southern tip of India and is more than 3,000 miles from Iran. B2s have a range of about 6,000 nautical miles.
A United States Institute of Peace map shows Iran’s ballistic missiles range from 200 km to 3,000 km (123 miles to 1,864 miles). This puts Diego Garcia out of Iran’s threat range.
A nervous calm has been cast over energy markets as Brent crude hovers below $80/bbl in late afternoon trading on Friday.
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GUNS N GEAR
Hot pit refueling is a pretty standard procedure, dating back to the late eighties/early nineties. Its’ benefit is that it requires very little infrastructure – a fuel bladder, a pump, and a hose. It can be quickly setup in very austere locations.
The point that was not brought out in this article is that it’s not likely a normal procedure for larger aircraft like bombers. Fighter aircraft (USAF ones anyway) do it fairly routinely.
I didn’t like it as you normally got shorted one or two thousand pounds of fuel in the process. Not a big deal for a bomber, but it could be for a fighter.