The KC-10 Extender aerial refueling jet has logged its last combat mission, closing a penultimate chapter within the airframe’s 4 a long time of service because it heads into retirement.
The last deployed KC-10 left Prince Sultan Air Base, a U.S.-run outpost in Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 5 after supporting combat operations in U.S. Central Command, the Air Force said in a release Friday. The service didn’t provide details on the tanker’s final sorties.
“The KC-10 has been the anchor of air refueling within the [region] since Desert Storm,” 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron boss Maj. Joseph Rush said in the discharge. “1000’s of airmen have deployed to support KC-10 combat operations. … To be here on the culmination of that legacy is a privilege.”
The 908th EARS has flown the KC-10 within the U.S.-led military campaigns against terror groups in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria from Prince Sultan Air Base and Al Dhafra Air Base within the United Arab Emirates since 2002.
The War Zone confirmed Thursday that the mission was the KC-10′s last ride in combat operations worldwide. The Air Force didn’t reply to a request for comment by press time.
Since entering service in 1981, the KC-10 has moved 1000’s of tons of cargo, transported 1000’s of troops and supplied many thousands and thousands of gallons of fuel to other aircraft in conflicts around the globe. The jets act as airborne gas stations where military aircraft can refuel with no need to divert to brick-and-mortar bases for service.
“For a fighter, aerial refueling can take a two-hour unrefueled flight time and switch it into an eight-hour combat mission,” Rush said in the discharge. “That translates to uninterrupted close air support coverage for coalition troops on the bottom or defensive counter-air coverage to high-value airborne assets in a combat zone.”
The KC-10′s exit is an element of the Air Force’s sweeping plan to overhaul its aging inventory with recent aircraft which can be cheaper to take care of and might withstand the demands of future wars.
The service is sunsetting the 59-jet Extender fleet to make way for Boeing’s recent KC-46 Pegasus tanker, which might carry greater than 212,000 kilos of fuel, 65,000 kilos of cargo and nearly 60 passengers. The brand new fleet can be equipped with more defensive measures that may help it survive enemy attacks, and is a testbed for communication software that might make it a data-sharing hub for forces in the world.
KC-10s will proceed to fly stateside as units finish swapping out older airframes and training on the KC-46, the discharge said.
The first KC-10 headed to the aircraft graveyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, in July 2020. The last of the fleet is slated for retirement in September 2024.
Despite its age, airmen often hail the KC-10 as their favorite airframe in a tanker enterprise hampered by multiple software and hardware design problems.
The KC-135 Stratotanker has faced years of flight restrictions because the service tries to repair malfunctioning autopilot software. And the KC-46 is within the midst of years of upgrades to its external cameras, the refueling boom, fuel leaks, cargo restraints and more which have delayed its full participation in global operations.
The ultimate deployment is a “bittersweet” end to KC-10 operations, Rush said in the discharge.
“It’s exciting for our community, as we get to take a number of the perfect parts of the KC-10 culture we’ve built over the past 42 years and convey those best practices and experiences to a brand recent weapons system,” he said.
Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md.), the Washington Post, and others.