The airbuses mentionned in the article are A310s, three of them acquired from CP. The 707's had refuelling pods on the wing tips. A basket ,like a badmington bird, was attached to a hose and deployed from the refuelling pod.Two fighters could refuel at once, using the wing tips as service stations. The Canadian system could refuel two aircraft while the USA used the tail boom system in the KC141 and the KC10.
When I was in the military, I flew a few times as a passenger on refuelling missions. Most impressive to be seated in the cabin of a 707 configured for passenger transport and watch a two CF5s refuel. They were so close to the aircraft that you could distinguish the fighter pilot whose features where hidden by the oxygen mask. In fact, if memory serves me well, because of the refuelling probe on the fighter aircraft, one of the aircraft was closer to the 707. I always marvelled at how adept those jet jockeys were in manoeuvring so close to a huge aircraft.
Thanks for posting the link. It brought back memories of another life.