The Air Force is considering retiring its fleet of KC-10 aerial refueling tankers among all its options to conform to tightening defense budgets, according to a service spokesman.
“As the Air Force plans for a future with sequestration, we are looking at all options for saving resources,” Air Force spokesman Ed Gulick said Thursday in an email. “At this time, all of those options are pre-decisional.”
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| Boeing’s KC-10 aerial refueling aircraft. Photo: Air Force. |
The KC-10 is an advanced tanker and cargo aircraft. Although its primary mission is aerial refueling, it can combine the tasks of a tanker and cargo aircraft by refueling fighters and simultaneously carry the fighter support personnel and equipment on overseas deployments, according to the Air Force. The KC-10 can transport up to 75 people and nearly 170,000 pounds of cargo a distance of about 4,400 miles unrefueled.
A modified Boeing [BA] DC-10, the KC-10 entered service in 1981.
The Air Force is procuring the KC-46 next-generation aerial refueling tanker to replace the legacy KC-135s.