force extension

Tankers escorting fighters are force extended when they are refueled by other tankers while en route to their destination. Force extension is normally required when tankers are acting in a dual-role capacity because their cargo will likely preclude carrying enough fuel for the tanker and receivers to reach the final destination. On global attack missions, force extension can also be used to extend the effective range, payload, and loiter time of combat aircraft due to the increased offload capacity of the force extended tanker. See also air refueling; dual-role tanker.