After 30+ Years in Middle East, KC-10 Completes Final Deployment

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The KC-10 Extender took another step toward retirement last week, as the venerable tanker finished off its last ever deployment. 

A KC-10 from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., conducted the aircraft’s final combat sortie from Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 3. The 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, which has flown the KC-10 since 2003, then held a formal deactivation ceremony Oct. 4, and the last KC-10 departed the base Oct. 5. 

A spokesperson from Air Mobility Command confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine that the KC-10 fleet has no more planned deployments before September 2024, when the last Extender will be retired. It may still be used for off-station training, contingency responses, or coronets—missions in which a group of fighters are assigned one or multiple tankers to fly with them over an ocean to ensure the smaller aircraft have enough fuel.

The KC-10 has been flying in the Middle East for Air Forces Central for more than 30 years, starting with Operation Desert Storm, though the aircraft has not always been permanently stationed there. The airframe moved to PSAB in March 2022, after previously operating from Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Aircraft and Airmen from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and Travis Air Force Base, Calif., have regularly rotated through the base. 

AFCENT still has the KC-135, which flies from Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as part of the 379th Expeditionary Air Wing. The AMC spokeswoman told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the command is “confident we can continue to meet Global Combatant Command requirements with our current tanker fleet. Our KC-135 fleet will provide tanker support from Al Udeid and Prince Sultan Air Base.” 

Demand for aerial refueling in the region may increase in the coming weeks, as both the Air Force and Navy move additional fighters into the area in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel. 

The KC-10’s departure from the Middle East continues a steady winddown for the Extender fleet, which is being retired to make way for the KC-46 Pegasus. Back in May, the aircraft flew its last sortie from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and the final tanker departed the base in June—leaving Travis as the last home base for the fleet. 

The Extender, referred to by many Airmen as “Big Sexy,” has been in the USAF fleet for 42 years. It can carry more than 356,000 pounds of fuel, almost twice the amount a KC-135 can haul, and nearly 170,000 pounds of cargo, almost matching the capacity of a C-17. 

The Air Force is in the midst of modernizing its tanker fleet. In addition to the KC-46, the service has launched a KC-135 Tanker Recapitalization Program and started work on the Next Generation Air-refueling System, or NGAS. 

Now comes the work of transitioning to the new KC-46 Pegasus.

“The KC-10 will continue to fly for the next year until all the tails have retired and crews have cross-trained into the KC-46,” said Maj. Joseph Rush, the last commander of the 908th EARS, in a statement. “It’s exciting for our community, as we get to take a lot of the best parts of the KC-10 culture we’ve built over the last 42 years and bring those best practices and experiences to a brand new weapons system.” 

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org