An F-35B Joint Strike Fighter conducted the first aerial refueling of its kind with a KC-130J Hercules in the sky above Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Oct. 2. Previous aerial refueling operations with the F-35 have been conducted only with test aircraft. "It's great to start to expand our operational capability in the context of working with the Marine Air-Ground Task Force," said Lt. Col. David Berke, who commands the F-35B squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, at Eglin. The KC-130J was from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252, based out of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.