Submitted Photo A B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base completes refueling behind a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 134th Air Refueling Wing, Tennessee Air National Guard, during exercise Saber Guardian 19 on June 17, 2019, in this U.S. Air National Guard photo.

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. – A B-52 Stratofortress and a KC-135 Stratotanker will fly over Minot and Minot Air Force Base today as part of Washington’s Fairchild AFB’s celebration of 100 years of air refueling called Operation Centennial Contact.

The flyover will take place around 3:50 p.m. over the Minot International Airport and U.S. Highway 83 on the way to Minot AFB.

A flyover also is scheduled to take place over the University of North Dakota Campus at 3:15 p.m. today.

Fairchild AFB is inviting the public to watch the flyovers occurring today over 17 key landmarks and destinations across the Northwest, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho.

Two KC-135s are scheduled to leave Fairchild tentatively at 8 a.m. to complete the western leg covering Washington and Oregon. An additional two KC-135s also are scheduled to depart Fairchild tentatively at 8 a.m. to complete the eastern leg covering Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota. The flyovers will include air refueling demonstrations with C-17 Globemaster IIIs, B-52 Stratofortresses and F-15C Eagles at select locations. Additionally, key flyover landmarks are set to include Mount Rushmore, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Olympic National Park.

With 100 years of experience, today’s U.S. Air Force air refueling capabilities deliver rapid global reach for U.S. forces and its allies and partners through the mobility air forces fleet of KC-46, KC-135 and KC-10 tankers.

Aerial refueling serves as a force multiplier, increasing the speed, range, lethality, flexibility and versatility of combat aircraft. Tankers also carry cargo and passengers, perform aeromedical evacuations and enable strategic deterrence for the United States.

In the continued pursuit of advanced capabilities and increased endurance, U.S. Army Air Service aviators pulled off the impossible on June 27, 1923. On that day, 1st Lt. Virgil Hine and 1st Lt. Frank Seifert, flying a DH-4B, transferred gasoline through a hose to another DH-4B flying beneath it, carrying Capt. Lowell Smith and 1st Lt. John Richter, accomplishing the first aerial refueling.

“As we embark on the next 100 years of air refueling, we will continue to strengthen our air mobility excellence,” said Gen. Mike Minihan, Air Mobility Command commander. “We must leverage the remarkable capabilities of air refueling to preserve peace, protect freedom and bring hope to the world. As Mobility airmen, we write the next chapter of air refueling.”