KC-10 Extender Bids Farewell to the UK | Aviation

Crews of the U.S. Air Force’s KC-10 Extender fleet attended the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford to show off their aircraft to British crowds one final time before the type’s upcoming retirement.

The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender, based on the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 airliner, has been in service with the U.S. Air Force since 1981. Sixty airframes were purchased in an effort to supplement the force’s large KC-135 Stratotanker fleet.

A widebody aircraft, the KC-10 offered a significantly greater fuel and cargo payload than the KC-135, and was also designed with an integrated hose and drogue refueling system, alongside a refueling boom, that was compatible with U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and many allied aircraft. KC-10s were additionally designed with the capability to themselves be refueled in the air, a feature only present on a handful of specially modified KC-135RTs.

While newer than the KC-135, the KC-10 fleet’s more limited numbers…