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Senior Airman Bridger Davis, 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron flying crew chief, inspects a KC-46 Pegausus before it takes off for Bamboo Eagle 24-3 on Aug. 8, 2024, at Sacramento Mather Airport, California. Air Mobility Command’s AMXS squadrons from different bases jointly provided critical ground support capabilities for the Air Force’s newest tanker by exploding into theater during Bamboo Eagle, a coastal exercise that tests the integration of mobility, combat, bomber, joint and Allied aircraft, which is key to joint force and international partner success. This iteration’s BE 24-3 is an example of how the Air Force implements large-scale exercises and mission-focused training encompassing multiple operational plans to demonstrate and rehearse for complex, large-scale military operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman William Lunn)

McConnell fuels the fight in Bamboo Eagle 25-1

An F-22 Raptor flies in formation before being refueled by a KC-46 Pegasus over the coast of California for Bamboo Eagle 24-3 on Aug. 8, 2024. The KC-46 Pegasus provides critical inflight refueling capabilities for the Air Force, testing its ability to deploy rapidly and maneuver the Joint Force at time, scale and mass. Pilots from the 344th Air Refueling Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base demonstrated their capability to refuel various types of fighter aircraft from different branches during the coastal exercise. Bamboo Eagle tests the integration of mobility, combat, bomber, joint and Allied aircraft, which is key to joint force and international partner success. This iteration’s BE 24-3 is an example of how the Air Force implements large-scale exercises and mission-focused training encompassing multiple operational plans to demonstrate and rehearse for complex, large-scale military operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman William Lunn)

McConnell fuels the fight in Bamboo Eagle 25-1

Senior Airman Orion Tyra, 344th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, maneuvers a refueling boom aboard one of three KC-46 Pegasus tankers sent from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, to refuel combat and support aircraft during exercise Bamboo Eagle 24-3 on Aug. 8, 2024, over the coast of California. The 344th ARS provides critical inflight refueling capabilities with the Air Force’s newest tanker, testing its ability to deploy rapidly and maneuver the Joint Force at time, scale and mass. Bamboo Eagle is a coastal exercise that tests the integration of mobility, combat, bomber, joint and Allied aircraft, which is key to joint force and international partner success. This iteration’s BE 24-3 is an example of how the Air Force implements large-scale exercises and mission-focused training encompassing multiple operational plans to demonstrate and rehearse for complex, large-scale military operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman William Lunn)

McConnell fuels the fight in Bamboo Eagle 25-1

Published Feb. 11, 2025
22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

McCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --

Team McConnell is fueling the fight across the Western United States and Eastern Pacific Ocean, as part of exercise BAMBOO EAGLE 25-1.

Multiple aircrews and maintainers from McConnell are basing out of the western U.S., delivering critical air refueling capabilities to empower Agile Combat Employment and showcase the tankers’ mission set of Global Reach.

“The 22nd Air Refueling Wing team participating in BAMBOO EAGLE 25-1 is eager to collaborate with other units and airframes across the Joint Force during this large-scale exercise,” said Maj. Avery Larkin, 344^th Air Refueling Squadron pilot and detachment commander for McConnell’s Bamboo Eagle contingent.

“This exercise offers our Airmen invaluable experience in delivering air refueling support to joint partners within a contested, dynamic environment. Throughout the exercise, our goal is to provide reliable, timely air refueling capabilities with both the KC-135 and KC-46, while gaining mission-critical training in a synchronized, high-intensity operation.”

The U.S. Air Force Warfare Center (USAFWC) at Nellis AFB, Nevada announced the start of Bamboo Eagle 25-1 on Feb. 8. This combined exercise features the U.S. Air Force alongside the joint force and allied forces from the Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, and, for the first time, Royal Canadian Air Force designed to enhance cooperation, agility, and combat readiness in order to improve interoperability.

At its core, Bamboo Eagle focuses on Agile Combat Employment — a strategy that ensures forces can quickly adjust, relocate, and sustain operations from multiple locations, even in contested environments.

“We have had the luxury of operating from safe haven bases for many decades, and modern threats have fundamentally changed that reality,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi, USAFWC commander. “Bamboo Eagle is a big part of helping us figure out how to manage those threats, and training together with our allies improves our ability to face those threats as a unified team.”

The USAFWC designed Bamboo Eagle to test and refine joint and coalition forces’ ability to deploy aircraft, equipment, and personnel to unfamiliar airfields, ensuring they can sustain operations under pressure. The goal is to build a more agile and resilient force capable of deterring threats in a rapidly evolving security environment.

“This is the largest number of aircraft we’ve deployed for an exercise at Nellis since we first attended Red Flag in 1980,” said RAAF Group Captain Stewart Seeney. “These exercises provide a realistic training environment where we can integrate different capabilities and develop our ability to work with key allies and partners. For many of our aviators, deploying on these exercises is a career highlight, and is not an experience that can be easily replicated elsewhere.”

As global security challenges continue to evolve, exercises like Bamboo Eagle ensure the U.S. and its allies remain ready to respond together. By strengthening these international and joint partnerships, the exercise reinforces the commitment to stability, security, and cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.