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Air Force

U.S. Using Significant Number of Tankers, C-17s for Afghan Airlift

Frank Wolfe

Monday, August 16th, 2021

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U.S. Using Significant Number of Tankers, C-17s for Afghan Airlift

A KC-10 Extender from the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and an F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron prepare for takeoff on July 5 from Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates (U.S. Air Force Photo)

The U.S. Air Force is using a significant number of Boeing [BA] KC-135 and KC-10 tankers and C-17 Globemasters to enable the evacuation of U.S. and allied personnel and Afghan civilians from Kabul International Airport, per flight tracking and open source intelligence analysts who monitor flights through the FlightRadar24 app. The U.S. shut down air operations at the airport on Aug. 16, as 2,500 U.S. troops secured operations there, but DoD said by press time on Aug. 16 that air…

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