Ten classic KC-10 Extenders to return to active service with a civilian operator

Ten classic KC-10 Extenders to return to active service with a civilian operator

Omega Air Tanker has begun reactivating ten Douglas KC-10 Extenders from the Arizona storage depot to add them to its in-flight refueling operations.

Omega Air Tanker has begun the reactivation process for ten Douglas KC-10 Extender aerial refueling aircraft that had been stored at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. The aircraft, which belonged to the United States Air Force (USAF), will leave the desert depot to rejoin active operational service.

The civilian company will operate the aircraft as aerial fuel stations on contracted missions. The firm provides regular refueling services for the United States armed forces as well as for NATO member countries and other allied nations across various international deployments.

Today the company's fleet consists of three KDC-10s, commercial DC-10 passenger aircraft that were converted after construction to perform military missions. The incoming KC-10s differ from the models it currently operates, as they originally left the Douglas plant in Long Beach designed from the outset to refuel f...