New jet-fueling system completed at Grissom Air Reserve Base

Danny Bowlin, a fuels contractor, pumps fuel from a new $35 million Type III fuel hydrant system, to a KC-135R Stratotanker on May 4, 2021 at Grissom Air Reserve Base. The new system replaces a system installed in the 1950s. (U.S. Air Force photo/Douglas Hays)

BUNKER HILL, Ind. (AP) — An overhaul on a new jet fueling system has been completed at northern Indiana’s Grissom Air Reserve Base after years of work to replace a system installed in the 1950s.

The $35 million fuel hydrant system recently went online at the base near Bunker Hill. The Kokomo Tribune reports it replaces a fuel system that required tanker trucks to enter the base in order to restock fuel tanks.

But the new system, which has a flow capacity of 600 gallons per minute, allows fuel to be offloaded by delivery tankers that never have to enter the main installation. Base officials say that creates obvious security benefits.