This is the gas station aircraft remote vision system for fighters

Tension in the Middle East has increased in recent days, and even more so after the air attack carried out by Iran on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on the evening of Tuesday October 2 in Spain. Israel, which has already invaded southern Lebanon, is preparing to retaliate; an action which is being studied with the United States. And to do this, it could use some of its most powerful weapons, such as the Popeye Turbo or the Jericho missile, equipped with a 1,000 kilogram nuclear warhead. A conflict which also revealed one of the Israeli forces’ best-kept secrets: the remote viewing system of its Boeing 707 tanker plane.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recently posted a video on their X (Twitter) account, a video in which Showing parts of a long-range strike mission against Houthi targets in Yemen held on September 29. Some images confirm that the F-35I Adir stealth aircraft and F-15C/D fighters participated in the said attack, which is part of an intensified campaign by Benjamin Netanyahu’s army against the said hostile group; as well as against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

But the most curious thing about this video is that it also gives a first glimpse of one of Israel’s military secrets: the remote viewing system. A technology that, as the clip shows, the IDF used on a Boeing 707 tanker plane, when refueling F-35 fighters over the Red Sea, as part of an attack on infrastructure in Yemen used by the Houthi-backed army. Iran. A technology that employs an in-flight refueling ramp system operator to see what happens at the rear of the plane when attaching the boom to the receiving plane.

3D glasses and cameras

The video, which was also shared by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), begins with the takeoff of a Boeing 707 tanker plane and includes views from inside the cabin. After a few seconds, you can see this plane flying in formation alongside Israeli F-35 fighters. At one point you can even see part of the Saudi coast, including the town of Al Hodaydah, from the tanker’s perspective; and the remote viewing system.

“Images of the refueling aircraft en route to attack Houthi military targets in Yemen. Yesterday, Sunday September 29, dozens of IAF aircraft (including fighter and refueling aircraft) carried out attacks against military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime in the Ras Isa and Al Hudaydah regions of Yemen, including power stations and a seaport which are used by the Houthis to import oil for military purposes,” the IAF wrote in X.

The IAF also noted in its post on the popular social network that “Israeli Air Force tanker aircraft They operated in all theaters of warproviding combat aircraft flexibility during attacks and aerial operations at any range. » As for the remote vision system of these planes, part of it had already been seen last July, when the Boeing 707 supported the F-35s during another long-range raid in Yemen.

However, on this occasion only the screen of the remote viewing mechanism could be seen thanks to a video showing the camera’s own feed. At no point did the actual interface that controls the system appear in the video, as media outlets have pointed out. War zone. Essentially, the technology used by Israel is a version much earlier than that used on the Boeing KC-46 tanker aircraft of the United States Air Force (USAF).

In the case of the system, this integrates 4K color cameras with adapted display geometry, an operator station with larger screens, a laser counter to calculate the distance to the aircraft during refueling and an augmented reality mechanism for boom control.

On both the Israeli 707 tanker and the American KC-46, the operator operating the in-flight refueling ramp system performs his duties from the main cockpit of the aircraft. And with the help of cameras located at the rear of the plane which feed the complex remote vision system (RVS, for its acronym in English). In both cases, a hybrid 2D or 3D system is used which requires operators to wear special glasses.

A journalist from cnn He was able to board this Israeli air tanker during the attack mission against Houthi targets in Yemen and reports that, for more than an hour and a half, Israeli F-35 fighters approached behind the plane, pushing its fuel tube. At this time, the squadron commander He put on his 3D glasses to see the images from the cameras and, controlling two long levers beside his seat, he aimed the nozzle at the fighters’ fuel port.

The commander, a 15-year veteran of refueling, assured the reporter that it was not a simple task and only took about three minutes. He even stressed that the biggest challenge is Make sure enough fuel is loaded into the F-35s and schedule the mission down to the minute so that the fighters arrive at the objective with a full tank at the time when the country’s intelligence tells them it is the best time to attack. Once the tank is full, the fighters are disconnected from the fuel supply, and the operator removes his goggles.

One of the curiosities of the remote viewing system used by Israel is that, unlike the current version used by the United States – which is failing – it works without persistent difficulties. We also know that in addition to 3D glasses, the Israeli RVS integrates a foot-operated communication mechanismwhich means that the pilot has his hands free to control the console and, as shown in the video, the operator’s screen is completely surrounded by analog instruments, such as dials and switches, with an antique appearance, reflecting the general age of the interface installation.

The 707 tanker plane

Originally the 707 was the first successful commercial passenger aircraft. A medium- and long-range, four-engine narrow-body aircraft with a swept-wing design that was developed and manufactured by the Boeing Company; and which made its first flight on December 20, 1957. It was not until October 1958 that it entered service. The plane remained in production until 1991 and has some interesting features, such as a cruising speed of 800 kilometers per hour.

The Boeing 707 also has a wingspan of 44.42 meters, a length of 46.61 m and a height of 12.93 m; and had a capacity of approximately 189 passengers. With its retirement and decommissioning, and thanks to its large capacity and large fuselage, this aircraft capable of traveling long distances of up to 6,820 kilometers was transformed into a tanker aircraft for in-flight refueling; remove the seats to equip its interior with huge pressurized fuel tanksas the journalist says cnn.

In addition to aerial refueling, the 707 used in the Yemen raid will likely also have served as a command and control station and communications node. And this plane It is equipped with a satellite communications suite that provide critical and secure beyond-line-of-sight communications with properly equipped tactical aircraft, such as the F-15 and F-16 fighters, and remote command centers. A very important feature in long range attack operations.

In these situations, the 707 enables real-time remote command and control, enhanced situational awareness, and other functions, such as sharing target information among all aircraft in the active network and which may be exchanged with command centers or other aircraft located at considerable distances. The IAF’s current fleet of these tankers entered service in 1979.with the then 707-300, which replaced the 707-100. Known by the Hebrew name Re’em, meaning “oryx”, these planes were purchased from commercial airlines and began to be adapted locally for aerial refueling.

The conversion of the 707 was carried out by the company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and was a long process, as it was only completed in the 2010s. An Israeli tanker aircraft believed to only exist only seven copies, so which ones. is a very valuable asset to the Israeli Air Force. Eventually, IAF to replace its 707 fleet with eight KC-46salthough it is not known when they will receive their first plane; but we know that these would come with version 2.0 of the RVS system, which should be available from April 2026.