The RAAF began modifying four of its Boeing 707 jet transports to enable air-to-air refuelling of the Hornets in December 1988; No. 2 OCU staff commenced training for airborne tanker operations in July 1991, subsequently adding this capability to the Hornet conversion course. By the mid-1990s, the unit had 12 instructors and a complement of 18 Hornets, including 13 two-seaters. It was running two conversion courses per year, with eight students per course, and had an average failure rate of 10 per cent. Several of its instructors were US and Canadian pilots on exchange with the RAAF. In 2000, No. 2 OCU joined Nos. 76 and 79 Squadrons as part of No. 78 Wing, which had been re-established as an operational training formation. As of 2005, the unit had a strength of between 12 and 14 instructors and ran three Hornet conversion courses and one fighter combat instructor course over two-year cycles. About six new Hornet pilots took part in each of the conversion courses, and the unit generally graduated 15 new Hornet pilots over each cycle. By 2007, No. 2 OCU had returned to the aegis of No. 81 Wing, under Air Combat Group. Although the duration of the conversion courses has remained unchanged since the Hornets were introduced into service, the content covered has been altered over time to reflect upgrades to the Hornets, the replacement of the Macchis with BAE Hawk 127 trainers in the early 2000s, and experience gained from using Hornets in combat during the Iraq War. No. 2 OCU conducted its 32nd fighter combat instructor course in 2013. The graduation exercise, Aces North, was the first to involve RAAF F/A-18 Super Hornets, Airbus KC-30 tankers, and Boeing E-7 Wedgetail early warning aircraft, as well as the "Classic" Hornets. The unit was awarded the 2016 Gloucester Cup for proficiency. In December 2017, Australia's first female fighter pilots graduated from No. 2 OCU. No. 2 OCU completed its final Hornet conversion training course in 2019, and ceased flying the type in December that year. It is scheduled to begin training pilots to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II in June 2020.