On 26th July 2024, three German Eurofighter EF-2000 aircraft performed the record-breaking non-stop flight from Japan to Hawaii Island, staying in the air for over ten and a half hours.
Information about the record flight was disclosed through official Luftwaffe accounts on social media. According to information provided, at 9:02 am (local time) the Eurofighters took-off from Chitose air force base in Japan. Ten hours and thirty-one minutes later, at 12:33 pm (local time), the German fighters successfully landed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
In this way, the German flight broke the current Eurofighter flight duration record of eight hours and thirty-six minutes, set in 2017 by the Typhoon FGR4s of the Royal Air Force. After their arrival to Oahu, the Eurofighter crews celebrated the new record with some Guiness beer.
During the flight, the Luftwaffe fighters were supported by KC-135R air tankers operated by Metrea, a private owned company offering strategic mobility solutions for military customers. Currently, Metrea operates a fleet of four KC-135R aircraft purchased from the Singapore government. In June of 2024, the company completed acquisition of further fourteen KC/C-135FR and RG aerial refuelling aircraft from the French Air and Space Forces.
An interesting fact is that Metrea is not only the sole private company to own and operate a fleet of the KC/C-135 aircraft but also, in many areas, is the pioneer of commercial aerial refuelling services. In April of 2023, the company performed the first commercial boom aerial refuelling. In June of the same year completed the first commercial air-to-air refuelling of the USAF aircraft and, in October of 2023, conducted the first commercial aerial refuelling of the USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II.
Initially, eight air-to-air refuelling procedures were planned for the record-breaking German Eurofighter flight from Japan to Hawaii. However, due to favourable weather conditions, only six refuelling operations turned to be enough.
The Luftwaffe operations in the Pacific area are part of Pacific Skies 2024 – the joint Earth circumnavigating mission of the German, French and Spanish Air Forces. Within that journey, the German and Spanish aircraft participated in Nippon Skies 24, joint aviation exercise in Japan. The Eurofighters deployed to Hawaii are taking part in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 24, the 28th edition of multinational exercise led by the US Navy and held between 29th June and 4th August 2024.
In the meantime, the other part of the German Pacific deployment participates in Pitch Black 24, a multinational aviation exercise led by the Royal Australian Air Force.
More information about the Pacific Skies 2024 deployment can be found in our article issued at the beginning of July 2024 – Earth circumnavigating adventure – Pacific Skies 2024.
Cover photo: German Eurofighter EF-2000 from the Pacific Skies 2024 deployment, is flying over Alaska during the Arctic Defender exercise, July 2024 (USAF photo by Senior Airman Julia Lebens). All photos © U.S. Department of Defence (DoD). DoD information materials were used, in compliance with Public Domain licence.
