It sounds like the goal was to use a fixed-wing plane rather than a helicopter because they didn’t want to risk having to refuel on the ground inside Iran, a la Operation Eagle Claw.
I think that, at least for most purposes, using fixed-wing VTOL aircraft to avoid having to refuel helicopters is probably basically made obsolete by air-to-air refueling of helicopters.
kagis
So the XFC-130H was what they intended to use for the Iranian hostage situation. Huh.
It sounds like the goal was to use a fixed-wing plane rather than a helicopter because they didn’t want to risk having to refuel on the ground inside Iran, a la Operation Eagle Claw.
I think that, at least for most purposes, using fixed-wing VTOL aircraft to avoid having to refuel helicopters is probably basically made obsolete by air-to-air refueling of helicopters.