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Air Force’s ‘Big Sexy’ aerial refueler will fly no more starting next year
The world’s skies will be a little less sexy starting next year. The Air Force on Sept. 1, 2024, will retire its fleet of KC-10A Extenders, aerial refuelers that can also transport troops or cargo, an Air Force news release said. The KC-10, which entered service in 1981 and has been operated by the 70th Air Refueling Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., since 1994, is known as “Big Sexy” by aircrews due to its “sleek and graceful wing design.” (www.stripes.com) Mais...
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demonstrably shortsighted. Allied aircraft will need more refueling that the Extenders have been consistently offering some day soon, maybe the pacific theater.
Presumably they will be stored at a boneyard for some time, so they could be reactivated in a crisis?
Oh you can do that, but then you have a crew & maintenance knowledge preservation issue, not to mention the time & effort to regenerate them to flying condition. Our adversaries won’t wait for us to bring them up to flying status.
Agree. Know it costs money, but the KC-46 hasn’t proven anything except to be a boondoggle. Until the KC-46 can prove itself, I wouldn’t….. but that’s me.
Not surprising for an aging, long out of production airframe. Time is the one thing that is the toughest to overcome. The last DC-10 of any variant left Long Beach in 1989. The company that owns the type certificate for the DC-10/MD-11 program is also the holder of the KC-46 type certificate - meaning they have no incentive to continue support for a program that started way back in the mid-1960's (the DC prefix means it predates the 1967 merger between Douglas and McDonnell)
A very useful aircraft for the Air Force, but maintaining them will only continue to increase in cost, not unlike the maint costs of the current VC-25 (also based on a long retired commercial jet)
A very useful aircraft for the Air Force, but maintaining them will only continue to increase in cost, not unlike the maint costs of the current VC-25 (also based on a long retired commercial jet)
Another sad day
