KC-10 tanker

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Starting thread at the end...

www.twz.com

Final KC-10 Extender Tanker Flies Into Retirement

The flight from Travis Air Force Base in California will bring down the curtain on a 43-year career for the trijet KC-10 Extender tanker-transport. The flight from Travis Air Force Base in California will bring down the curtain on a 43-year career for the trijet KC-10 Extender tanker-transport.
www.twz.com www.twz.com
 
www.airandspaceforces.com

Air Force’s Very Last KC-10 Tanker Bids Adieu at Travis

The last KC-10 refueling tanker in the Air Force inventory flew its last flight after a farewell ceremony at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
www.airandspaceforces.com www.airandspaceforces.com
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ORIGINAL CAPTION: A KC-10 Extender in its original Strategic Air Command paint scheme refuels a C-5 Galaxy transport jet over California in the 1980s. (Photo via National Archives and Records Administration)
 
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Is the KC-767 / KC-46 expected to fill in for the KC-10? Are there any plans to replace the KC-10 with the A330 MRTT / KC-45, KC-777, or even the 747 / KC-33?
 
Grey Havoc said:
They should have transferred at least some of them to the Air National Guard.
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There were already aircraft operated by the Reserve but retiring them to the Guard doesn't solve any funding issues and just burdens the Guard with a type that is almost out of commercial service and has a nearly non existent maintenance supply line.
Christopher Wang said:
Is the KC-767 / KC-46 expected to fill in for the KC-10? Are there any plans to replace the KC-10 with the A330 MRTT / KC-45, KC-777, or even the 747 / KC-33?
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Yes. Not likely to see a new large tanker come along. The next tanker is programmed to be the KC-Y, bridging tanker, which will almost certainly be more KC-46s but the USAF wants to move along to KC-Z as part of NGAS as soon as they can.

theaviationist.com

Skunk Works Releases New KC-Z Stealth Tanker Rendering

Lockheed Martin’s secretive division released the rendering of a notional stealth tanker for the Next-Generation Air Refueling System program which aims
theaviationist.com theaviationist.com

While people may not like the retirement of the KC-10 it is the right thing to do for the USAF. Their budget simply doesn't stretch to operating three tankers and retiring a whole type saves so much more than retiring an equivalent number of KC-135s.
 
The KC-10 fleet was hard-worked for 40 years, plus there are no more civilian DC-10s left to share spares and alleviate the growing maintenace cost burden. Compared to the 800+ KC-135 fleet (which kinda self-sustain) 60 KC-10s is a tiny fleet.
 
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Less than 10, and that’s including the three KDC-10s at Omega, four used as Air Tankers for forest fires, and the Orbis Flying Eye hospital. Certainly nothing in normal operation in the States since Fedex retired all of there’s, and are on track to retire the MD11 fleet by 2028.
 
I've completely forgotten that Omega operates two separate types of "KDC-10" tankers. Interesting to note they converted former JAL DC-10-40 N974VV into a tanker before acquiring the RNLAFs boom tankers.

Per Omega's FAQ https://www.omegaairrefueling.com/faqs/

KDC-10A
The KDC-10/MPTT tanker is a modified DC-10-40 with two modern Eaton 909E wing pods. On the KDC-10, one Eaton 909E wing pod assembly is located on each wing. Two aircraft may refuel simultaneously.
KDC-10B
The KDC-10 boom tankers are KDC-10-30 aircraft with the same boom as mounted on a USAF KC-10 except it is controlled through a Remote Aerial Refueling Operator station at the front of the aircraft and is equipped with a Load Alleviation System.
 
NMaude said:
I wonder how many of these retired KC-10As will be converted into Air Tankers to fight forest fires?
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None? Hopefully they are scooped up by military contractors...
It is probably easier to convert a MD-10/11 into fire tankers than de-mil a KC-10.
 
NMaude said:
I wonder how many of these retired KC-10As will be converted into Air Tankers to fight forest fires?
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Seems unlikely to me. They will initially be stored as Type 1000 which is essentially the highest level of storage, so near flyaway condition although I think pretty certain none will ever fly again, and I expect they will drop quickly to a lower level of storage.
 

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