The USAF retired the last KC-10A Extender long-range strategic tanker/transport in September 2024. The first of 60 Extenders, a military derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF airliner, entered USAF in March 1981. Fitted with a central refuelling boom and two hose-drogue refuelling systems in wing pods, the KC-10A could also carry up to 80 support personnel and has a maximum range of 4,370 miles. One was lost in a 1987 accident.
Last year, the USAF put 10 Extenders up for auction in a non-flyable state, with their underwing engines removed. These aircraft were among the first KC-10As retired, and their booms were stripped for spares for the aircraft that remained in service until the type’s final retirement in 2024. Omega Aerial Refuelling Services successfully bid on all these airframes, stored at the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. They returned the first to flying condition this October.
Omega currently flies two former Royal Netherlands Air Force KDC-10 tankers, another DC-10 converted into a hose-and-drogue tanker, and two KC-707s. Omega provides contract air-to-air refuelling to meet the operational needs of the US Navy and Marine Corps, the US Air Force and National Air Guard, Joint Special Operations Command, and US allies. Omega can provide both probe-and-drogue and boom refuelling services.
A request for information (RFI) was issued by USAF on 9 October, seeking to identify potential industry sources that possess the capability, expertise, and facilities to execute the regeneration, one-time flight clearance, depot-level return to service, worldwide ferry delivery, in-country Contractor Logistics Support (CLS), and operational/maintenance training for up to four KC-10A Extender aircraft. A request for proposals (RFP) will then follow, allowing interested bidders to compete for the final contract for a foreign military sales (FMS) transfer to a North African nation, most likely Morocco or Egypt, both of which operate fleets of F-16s.
by David Oliver
