Originally Posted by
PDR1
It wasn't that the AAR system "hadn't been used for years" - it had never been cleared for use because the original trials suggested AAR with a Vulcan was just to challenging for the pilot. So while the provisions were there in the airframes the capability had never been used for anything but trials.
PDR
To use BEagle's phrase, bolleaux. The Vulcan did non-stop refuelled flights to Africa and the Far East. I did the IFR course at Marham in 1964. The premature grounding of the Valiant killed the plans and the Vulcan could flow down the route faster than the Victor 1 could activate it. But it certainly was used.