They appeared on a KC-135 Stratotanker and on an F-15E Strike Eagle

The US Air Force records clear St. Elmo's fires during in-flight refueling

Esp 1·14·2025 · 21:51 0

St. Elmo's fires are a curious meteorological phenomenon that usually occurs during an electrical storm.

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Due to the ionization of the air, bluish electrical discharges can be captured on both ships and airplanes. As I already commented here in 2020, Christopher Columbus captured this phenomenon during one of his voyages on October 26, 1493, and it was also recorded on the Magellan-Elcano expedition. This phenomenon has been known since ancient Greece and among sailors it has always been a sign of good omen, which explains why it was named after Saint Elmo, the patron saint of sailors.

Airmen have been watching this phenomenon for years. Yesterday, the US Air Force (USAF) released a video showing very clear St. Elmo’s fires during a nighttime refueling between a KC-135 Stratotanker and an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bomber at an undisclosed location within the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of ​​responsibility:

You can see some screenshots from this video here. The images show a very clear electrical discharge on the windows of the KC-135 cockpit (this St. Elmo's fire appears cropped due to how it was captured by the digital recording system used on the plane). Click on the images to see them enlarged.

A persistent St. Elmo's fire is also observed on the nose of the F-15E, specifically on the starboard side. The digital recording captured it as a blue line headed by a less clear part.

Here we can see another image of the same St. Elmo's fire on the nose of the F-15E. The image shows that this fighter aircraft was armed with three short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and one medium-range AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, on the side supports of the external fuel tank pylons.

St. Elmo's fire on the nose of the F-15E, recorded from the KC-135 refueling boom operator's position.

Another St. Elmo's fire, this time the starboard external fuel tank of the F-15E. It should be noted that these discharges are not dangerous for the crew of the planes, since the metal fuselage of both works as a Faraday cage. Another thing is that it may imply some risk for refueling. It should be noted that a St. Elmo's fire can be the precursor to a lightning bolt. In fact, sailors knew that they had to take cover if they saw one when they were up on a mast.

Another image of a small St. Elmo's fire in the starboard outboard tank.

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