Alabama Air National Guard units train together in skies over the state
Montgomery Regional Airport-Dannelly Field is home to the 187th Fighter Wing and its Red Tail F-35A Lightning fighter jets. Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport is home to the 117th Air Refueling Wing with its KC-135 Stratotanker capable of fueling aircraft in flight.
The two Alabama Air National Guard unit look for opportunities to train together – whether it’s a gas-and-go operation or something more involved and coordinated.
Here is a gallery of the two units and their aircraft sharing the skies.
Three F-35A Lightning II’s assigned to the 187th Fighter wing fly in formation on March 21, 2025, at the military operating area in Alabama. The 187th Fighter Wing and 117th Air Refueling Wing combine Alabama National Guard assets to accomplish readiness training. (Capt. Michael Luangkhot / 187th Fighter Wing)
U.S. Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Tyler Williams observes refueling operations inside the boom pod of a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, March 21, 2025. Williams is an in-flight refueling technician with the 106th Air Refueling Squadron, and was working with one of the unit’s newest boom operators during the flight as they refueled F-35 Lightning II fighters from the 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
Two F-35A Lightning II’s assigned to the 187th Fighter Wing fly in formation next to the 117th Air Refueling Wing’s KC-135 Stratotanker on March 21, 2025, at the military operating area in Alabama. The 187th Fighter Wing and 117th Air Refueling Wing combine Alabama National Guard assets to accomplish readiness training. (Capt. Michael Luangkhot / 187th Fighter Wing)
U.S. Air National Guard Capt. Michael Luangkhot, public affairs officer with the 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, captures imagery of Senior Airman Jackson Garrett as he operates the controls of the refueling boom inside a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, March 21, 2025. Garrett is an in-flight refueling technician with the 106th Air Refueling Squadron and was refueling F-35 Lightning II fighters from the 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
An F-35A Lightning II’s assigned to the 187th Fighter Wing approaches the boom of the 117th Air Refueling Wing’s KC-135R Stratotanker on March 21, 2025, at the military operating area in Alabama. The 187th Fighter Wing and 117th Air Refueling Wing combine Alabama National Guard assets to accomplish readiness training. (Capt. Michael Luangkhot / 187th Fighter Wing)
U.S. Air National Guard crew members from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, perform pre-flight requirements, March 21, 2025, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham. The 117th flies the KC-135R Stratotanker, and the day’s mission took them to the skies over Alabama, where they refueled F-35 Lightnings from their sister unit, the 187th Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
An F-35A Lightning II’s assigned to the 187th Fighter Wing approaches the boom of the 117th Air Refueling Wing’s KC-135R Stratotanker on March 21, 2025, at the military operating area in Alabama. The 187th Fighter Wing and 117th Air Refueling Wing combine Alabama National Guard assets to accomplish readiness training. (Capt. Michael Luangkhot / 187th Fighter Wing)
U.S. Air National Guard Col. Jim Whaley discusses mission requirements and pre-flight checklists with 117th Air Refueling Wing crew members and maintenance personnel before beginning his walk-around inspection March 21, 2025, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham. Whaley, the 187th Fighter Wing deputy commander, was the aircraft commander for the flight that took crew members over much of Alabama and parts of Mississippi. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
U.S. Air National Guard pilots, boom operators, and maintenance personnel from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, discuss pre-flight inspection requirements, March 21, 2025, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham. The 117th flies the KC-135R Stratotanker, and the day’s mission took them to the skies over Alabama, where they refueled F-35 Lightnings from their sister unit, the 187th Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
U.S. Air National Guard Master Sgt. Mike Ellis, a crew chief with the 117th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Alabama Air National Guard, starts the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) as part of the unit’s pre-flight inspection, March 21, 2025, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham. The APU provides power to run the electrical systems on-board the KC-135 while maintenance personnel and aircrew members perform necessary pre-flight checklists. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
U.S. Air National Guard Col. Jim Whaley, second from left, discusses mission requirements and pre-flight checklists with 117th Air Refueling Wing crew members and maintenance personnel before beginning his walk-around inspection March 21, 2025, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham. Whaley, the 187th Fighter Wing deputy commander, was the aircraft commander for the flight that took crew members over much of Alabama and parts of Mississippi. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
U.S. Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Michael Stakic, a maintenance Airman from the 117th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, rolls out his headphone cord as he prepares to talk with crew members inside a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, March 21, 2025, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham. Stakic was part of the team preparing the aircraft for a flight that would take its crew members over much of Alabama and parts of Mississippi. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
An F-35 Lightning II assigned to the 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, flys just off the wing of a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, March 21, 2025, over the units’ home state. The two Alabama Air National Guard units try to coordinate flying schedules as often as possible to provide each wing’s Airmen training opportunities close to home. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
U.S. Air National Guard Col. Jim Whaley performs pre-flight inspections before boarding the KC-135R, March 21, 2025, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham. Whaley, the 187th Fighter Wing deputy commander, was the aircraft commander for the flight that took crew members over much of Alabama and parts of Mississippi. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
U.S. Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Tyler Williams discusses refueling operations with Senior Airman Jackson Garrett inside the boom pod of a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, March 21, 2025. Williams and Garrett are both in-flight refueling technicians with the 106th Air Refueling Squadron, and this flight was Garrett’s first time refueling the F-35 Lightning II fighters from the 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
U.S. Air National Guard Lt. Col. Joseph Epperson, pilot with the 106th Air Refueling Squadron, 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, runs through his pre-flight checklist inside the cockpit of a KC-135R, March 21, 2025, at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Birmingham. The crew’s mission today took them to the skies over Alabama, where they refueled F-35 Lightnings from their sister unit, the 187th Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
U.S. Air National Guard crew members from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, monitor flight instruments and evaluate flight operations in the cockpit of a KC-135R Stratotanker, March 21, 2025, in the skies over Alabama. The 117th flies the 60-year-old aerial refueler, and the day’s mission took them out over their home state, where they refueled F-35 Lightnings from their sister unit, the 187th Fighter Wing. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)
An F-35 Lightning II assigned to the 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, flys just off the wing of a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, March 21, 2025, over the units’ home state. The two Alabama Air National Guard units try to coordinate flying schedules as often as possible to provide each wing’s Airmen training opportunities close to home. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Paul Mann)