--- title: "Inside The Air Force’s Elite Ghost Tanker Unit" date: "2026-04-09" modified: "2026-04-09" authors: - name: "Jamie Hunter" job_title: "Contributor" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/jamie-hunter.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/air/inside-the-air-forces-elite-ghost-tanker-unit" categories: - "Air" - "Air Forces" - "KC-135" - "Tankers" - "U.S. Air Force" tags: - "USAF" --- # Inside The Air Force’s Elite Ghost Tanker Unit ![KC-135 ghost tanker]() *Jamie Hunter* In this episode of TWZ: Special Access, Jamie Hunter visits the world-famous [Edwards Air Force Base](), the heart of the USAF's flight test operations, in California’s Mojave Desert, to fly a mission in a KC-135 that's become known as the “Ghost Tanker.” This is the U.S. Air Force’s only dedicated test tanker that’s instrumented to certify new aircraft types to tank from a flying-boom-equipped, in-flight refueling aircraft. It was recently seen conducting [aerial refueling trials]() with the new B-21 Raider bomber. Operated by the Air Force Reserve Command’s 370th Flight Test Squadron, this KC-135 is the Air Force Test Center’s flagship. It forms the centerpiece of an elite tanker test team at Edwards that performs a critical role in supporting a wide range of flight-testing. https://youtu.be/qhLD0Ho4OVs?si=n4-zqZIL3CHI7RuT *Contact the host: Jamie.Hunter@teamrecurrent.io* ## Author Jamie is *TWZ’s* Branded Content and YouTube Editor, overseeing the content side of the site’s industry partner programs and our expanding video programs. He lives in London, U.K. but is regularly on the road particularly with our international trade show presence. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [Youtube]()