KC-10s 20 years deployed, 30 years operational

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  • By 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  On the 17th of January, 2011, the KC-10 "Extender" aircraft will mark continuous deployment for 20 years--24 hours a day/7days a week/365 days a year-- to the Middle East in support of combat operations. Along with the aircraft, both aircrews and maintainers have been deployed with it. The KC-10 will pass the 30 years of operational service milestone in March of 2011.

The KC-10 first entered the Air Force fleet in 1981 and was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC). It remained a SAC asset until 1992 when it was reassigned to the then newly-created Air Mobility Command. Today, KC-10s are based solely at Travis AFB and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. Despite its small numbers (there are only 59 in the inventory) and now lengthy time in service, the Air Force routinely relies on this tanker for both air refueling and airlift, operating them at a grueling pace all around the world supporting U.S. operations. One such location is a forward deployed base in Southwest Asia. KC-10s have been deployed to this specific location for nearly all of the 20 years of continuous deployment. "We've multiplied our KC-10 presence there several-fold since the time I first deployed in 1996 and we're now staying three times as long. We have numerous crewmembers with more than 10 deployments under their belts and more than 300 combat sorties," said Lt. Col. Johnny Barnes, Commander of the 9th Air Refueling Squadron.

Following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces in August 1990, the United States and its allies initiated Operation Desert Shield. This marked the beginning of the KC-10's unbroken deployment string--SAC deployed seven KC-10s to assist in the massive buildup of U.S. troops and equipment to the Persian Gulf region and the airframe has been there ever since.

Strategic Air Command later increased the number of tankers along the route that included New England, the Azores, Egypt and Guam. And although the KC-10 was constantly hauling cargo and troops, it consistently achieved the highest mission capable rates - above 95 percent - of any coalition aircraft.

"Without the phenomenal tanker support we had for the war, we could not have accomplished what we did," said retired Lt. Gen. Pat Caruana during an August 2009 Tanker Living Legends Speaker Series at Scott AFB. The general served as a U.S. Central Air Forces' air campaign planner and commander directing strategic forces in Saudi Arabia for both Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The aircraft did more than provide just air refueling, said General Caruana. "The KC-10s were providing a majority of the airlift, especially early on," he said.

Gen. Kenneth Keller, who also participated in the 2009 speaker series, said the KC-10 played an integral role in getting forces and aircraft to the theater. General Keller was SAC's Director of Command and Control and, for two months of Desert Shield, served as the Headquarters' Director of Operations. "When we were first pushing fighters in to the theater of operations, there was no refueling capability in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea," said General Keller. "So we pushed tankers into that area to build that (air) bridge."

Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm resulted in the largest air refueling operation ever conducted. The KC-10s and KC-135 Stratotankers were credited with a total of 51,700 refueling operations and delivering more than 125 million gallons of fuel. When the actual fighting began Jan. 17, 1991, tankers were flying missions not previously seen. "I can remember we had tankers refueling F-15s (Eagles) at 3,000 feet right before the operation began," said General Caruana. "They were flying low to avoid radar."When the United States launched Operation Southern Watch in 1991 to enforce the Iraqi no-fly zone, KC-10s were also flying combat support sorties. Since then, they have participated in Operations Restore Hope (Somalia), Deny Flight (Bosnia), Desert Fox (Iraq), Allied Force (Kosovo), and tens of thousands of individual airlift and air refueling missions.

When terrorists attacked the United States on its own soil on Sept. 11th, almost immediately KC-10s from McGuire were airborne supporting the combat air patrols protecting U.S. skies as part of Operation Noble Eagle. Tankers flew more than 350 sorties in that operation with nearly one-third of those flights occurring within the first three months of the attacks.

Now, nearly 10 years after the first of the Twin Towers fell, KC-10s continue to play a vital role in protecting the United States against attack. Travis and McGuire KC-10s have logged more than 106,000 flying hours. In 2009 alone, the tankers flew more than 4,700 sorties offloading more than 422 million gallons of fuel and supporting nearly 3,000 troops in contact events.

KC-10s have also been instrumental in Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn. "We couldn't do what we do without the KC-10. The KC-10's ability to offload the amount of fuel that it does is one of the key reasons the Navy is able to fly from an aircraft carrier to Afghanistan," said Lt Col LeRoy, 9ARS Director of Operations.

However, this forward projection of airpower comes with a cost to both man and machine. The 9th ARS said that the KC-10s, maintainers and crew members have sustained their heaviest deployed operations tempo since 2006. Currently they fly about 35 sorties during a 70- to 77-day deployment.

"The Air Force is asking a lot from us, but that means we're able to make that much more of a difference for the troops on the ground needing air cover," said Colonel Barnes. While KC-10s don't directly provide air cover, they refuel the fighters and bombers that do provide close air support to ground units. Without air refueling support, these aircraft could not loiter, on-call, in support of U.S. and coalition forces.

"Last year, we had 1,400 incidents where KC-10s and their aircrews supported U.S. and coalition troops in contact with the enemy - and that's just from the 9th ARS," Colonel Barnes said. "There are four active-duty squadrons supporting troops in contact, in addition to four reserve units. Together we are making a huge difference and truly saving lives overseas."

The pace of work and the age of the planes also mean the tankers have to be repaired more often, according to Colonel LeRoy. "Sustaining the KC-10 grows more difficult each day. Generating the aircraft requires more time with each hour flown and with each passing day. Maintenance is a challenge but our maintainers do an awesome job with the airplane" he said.

With no immediate plans to replace the KC-10, the Air Force will likely rely on the tanker through its golden anniversary in 20 years. The KC-10 is projected to have a structural service life beyond 2043.

The KC-10 is a Douglas Corporation DC-10 modified with Air Force equipment and systems. With six refueling tanks, the KC-10 can carry up to 356,000 pounds of fuel. It has a range of 4,400 miles full of cargo and 11,000 miles without cargo. It was designed to move, through refueling, combat aircraft and their equipment to forward bases--extending their range and reach; thus its name "Extender." The tanker itself can also be refueled in flight by another tanker, even further extending its range.

Since January 17th, 1991, the KC-10 has "extended" America's reach. Through air refueling and airlift, the KC-10 with its maintainers and aircrews, have been continuously forward deployed to Southwest Asia. They have deployed or operated in support of every major U.S. contingency effort since 1991. With no end in sight for their forward deployment, the aircraft, the maintainers, and the operators, work together to provide the right effects, at the right time, at the right place--Airpower for America.

(Capt. Randall Heusser, 6th ARS, and 1st. Lt. Elizabeth Yost, 660th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, at Travis AFB contributed to this article).