{"id":27394155,"date":"2026-10-09T10:46:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/kc-10-extender-tankers-north-african-partner-regeneration-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T10:46:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:46:48","slug":"kc-10-extender-tankers-north-african-partner-regeneration-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/kc-10-extender-tankers-north-african-partner-regeneration-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"KC-10 Extender Tankers Could Fly Again for a North African Partner"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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Crews delivering the jets to the boneyard signed their names on the nose-gear doors and walked away. Now the US Air Force is asking who could make some of them fly again.<\/p>\n<p>On 7 October 2026 a notice appeared on SAM.gov, the federal contracting portal, looking for companies able to regenerate up to four <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/kc-10-extender\/\">KC-10 Extender<\/a> tankers from storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and hand them to a foreign air force. The customer is described only as \u201ca partner nation in North Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is a market-research request, not a contract, and nothing about it is settled. But it is the first concrete sign that the three-engined tanker the Air Force retired in 2024 may have a second career, and the list of plausible buyers is very short.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f8;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:26px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>What:<\/strong> Request for Information (sources sought) to regenerate, return to service, ferry and support up to four retired KC-10 Extender tankers<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Posted:<\/strong> 7 October 2026 on SAM.gov, notice FA8625-27-R-B001; responses due 28 October 2026<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Transfer route:<\/strong> Excess Defense Articles (EDA) to an unnamed partner nation in North Africa<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Scope:<\/strong> Regeneration, one-time flight clearance, depot-level return to service, worldwide ferry, in-country contractor logistics support and training<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>KC-10 fleet:<\/strong> 60 built for the US Air Force; first flight July 1980; final USAF flight 26 September 2024<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Refuelling:<\/strong> Flying boom and hose-and-drogue on the same aircraft<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Engines:<\/strong> Three General Electric CF6-50C2 (F103) turbofans, 52,500 lb thrust each<\/p><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the Air Force actually asked for<\/h2>\n<p>The notice, posted by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center with a place of performance at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, is unusually specific about the work and unusually quiet about the customer. Its headline frames the job as a Foreign Military Sales programme for the \u201cPurchase of Four Air Refueling Aircraft,\u201d with a three-to-five-year sustainment package, contractor logistics support and training.<\/p>\n<p>The body text spells out the whole chain, from desert to delivery. Whoever wins would have to drag the jets out of storage, get each one cleared for a single ferry flight, bring it back to full serviceability at depot level, fly it to the customer anywhere in the world, and then keep it running in the partner\u2019s own country while training its crews and maintainers.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;The intended purpose is to identify potential industry sources that possess the capability, expertise, and facilities to execute the regeneration, one-time flight clearance, depot-level return to service, worldwide ferry delivery, in-country Contractor Logistics Support (CLS), and operational\/maintenance training for up to four (4) KC-10 Extender aircraft transferred via Excess Defense Articles (EDA) to a partner nation in North Africa.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>US Air Force Request for Information<\/strong> &mdash; SAM.gov notice FA8625-27-R-B001, 7 October 2026<\/div><\/div>\n\n<p>The detailed requirements are restricted: the notice says the full RFI contains Controlled Unclassified Information and will only be released to companies that email in with a CAGE code. Responses are due on 28 October. Answers \u201care not offers,\u201d the Air Force stresses, and the request \u201cdoes not constitute a Request for Proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Excess Defense Articles route matters. It is the Pentagon\u2019s mechanism for passing surplus equipment to partners, often at a reduced price or none at all, which would make the bill mostly about refurbishment, delivery and support rather than the airframes themselves. The State Department referred TWZ, which first reported the notice on 8 October, to the Pentagon for comment.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why the KC-10 Extender is worth the trouble<\/h2>\n<p>The KC-10 is a militarised DC-10, and it was always more than a tanker. McDonnell Douglas built 60 for the Air Force; the first flew in July 1980 and the type entered service in 1981. Its three GE CF6-50C2 engines lift up to 356,000 lb of fuel, and it can haul almost as much cargo as a C-17, according to Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine.<\/p>\n<p>Its real trick was carrying both refuelling systems at once. A flying boom serves receptacle-equipped jets such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-16-fighting-falcon\/\">F-16<\/a>, while a centreline hose-and-drogue unit serves probe-equipped aircraft. One KC-10 could serve both kinds of receiver on a single sortie, and it carried nearly twice the fuel of the older <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/kc-135-stratotanker\/\">KC-135<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Crews loved it. At the final retirement ceremony at Travis Air Force Base, Lt. Col. Andrew Baer, commander of the 9th Air Refueling Squadron, described what that meant for fighters running out of fuel while supporting troops in contact.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;Even if that fighter started heading for home because he had to, we had the engines and speed to run him down, put the boom down, fill it up so he could turn around and come back.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Lt. Col. Andrew Baer<\/strong> &mdash; Commander, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, to Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine, 26 September 2024<\/div><\/div>\n\n<p>The Air Force retired the fleet anyway, and its former KC-10 squadrons moved on to the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/kc-46-pegasus\/\">KC-46 Pegasus<\/a>. The first KC-10 went to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, the boneyard, in July 2020. The last flew from Travis to Arizona on 26 September 2024, tail number 79-1948, call sign \u201cGucci 10.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/kc-10-79-1946-retired-nose-gear-door-davis-monthan.jpg\" alt=\"A boom operator signs the nose gear door of KC-10 Extender 79-1946 after delivering it to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A 9th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator adds his name to the nose-gear door of KC-10 79-1946, the squadron\u2019s flagship, after delivering it to the 309th AMARG at Davis-Monthan on 11 January 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Traci Keller \/ DVIDS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What is left in the desert<\/h2>\n<p>Of the 60 built, one was destroyed in a fire during ground maintenance at Barksdale in 1987. Not all of the survivors are candidates. In 2025 the government put ten KC-10s up for auction as non-flyable airframes, most missing an engine and all of them without their booms, which had been pulled for spares.<\/p>\n<p>The condition of the rest is less clear. TWZ notes that the Fiscal Year 2026 defence authorisation act, signed in December 2025, ordered the Air Force to keep its remaining retired KC-10s in the same storage condition they were in on 30 September 2025, while still allowing disposal under existing property rules.<\/p>\n<p>Bringing a widebody back from long-term storage is a well-trodden path at Davis-Monthan, but it is not quick or cheap. A one-time flight clearance only gets the jet airborne once; the depot work the notice describes is what turns it back into a tanker.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RTLLsMiZQCM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:-10px;font-style:italic\">AiirSource Military\u2019s compilation shows a KC-10 refuelling F-16s, A-10s and another KC-10 with its boom: the capability a North African F-16 operator would be buying.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Egypt or Morocco?<\/h2>\n<p>The Air Force does not name the country. TWZ\u2019s analysis points to Egypt and Morocco as the most likely candidates, and the case for each rests on the same fact: both fly large F-16 fleets, and an F-16 refuels by boom.<\/p>\n<p>Egypt has no aerial refuelling aircraft of its own. That gap was on display at the Eagles of Civilization 2026 exercise, when a Chinese YY-20 tanker refuelled an Egyptian <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/rafale\/\">Rafale<\/a> in what was reported as the first publicly documented Chinese refuelling of a Western-built fighter. But the YY-20 uses probe and drogue, which suits Egypt\u2019s Rafales and MiG-29s. It cannot refuel Egypt\u2019s F-16s. A KC-10 can, and Egyptian F-16 pilots practised refuelling behind USAF Extenders during Exercise Bright Star 23.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/egyptian-air-force-f-16-kc-10-extender-bright-star-23.jpg\" alt=\"Egyptian Air Force F-16s and US Air Force jets fly in formation off the wing of a KC-10 Extender during Bright Star 23\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Egyptian Air Force F-16s fly alongside a US Air Force F-16 and A-10 off the wing of a KC-10 Extender during Exercise Bright Star 23 over Egypt, 14 September 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Emily Farnsworth \/ DVIDS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Morocco is the other strong fit. Its air force flies F-16s and is buying more, and its first new F-16 Block 72 flew at Greenville, South Carolina, this month. Its own tankers are KC-130H Hercules with probe-and-drogue pods, and it has never operated a boom tanker. Moroccan F-16 pilots have practised dry boom contacts with Ohio Air National Guard KC-135s during African Lion 2025, and Morocco has chosen Embraer\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/kc-390-millennium\/\">C-390<\/a> to replace its Hercules fleet, a type that refuels from wing-mounted hose-and-drogue pods.<\/p>\n<p>Neither government has commented, and the notice could yet lead nowhere. But it is hard to read \u201cfour tankers, boom-capable, North Africa\u201d without seeing an F-16 operator that wants to fly further without asking anyone else for fuel.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Not the first second life<\/h2>\n<p>The DC-10 tanker already has a civilian afterlife. The Royal Netherlands Air Force flew two KDC-10 conversions until 2021 and sold both to Omega Aerial Refueling Services, which leases tanker support to air forces, including the US military. The North African deal, if it happens, would put ex-USAF Extenders into a foreign air force\u2019s own markings.<\/p>\n<p>Forty-six years after its first flight, the Extender is not done passing gas.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: SAM.gov notice 568b696058334b71a03aa084a5388d70 (FA8625-27-R-B001), 7 October 2026; TWZ (Joseph Trevithick), 8 October 2026, and TWZ on the 2025 KC-10 auction; Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine (David Roza), 26 September 2024; National Museum of the US Air Force KC-10A fact sheet; Wikipedia, McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender; The Aviationist and AeroTime on Eagles of Civilization 2026; DVIDS (Bright Star 23, African Lion 2025, 9th ARS retirement imagery); Hespress, 21 August 2025; Wikipedia, Embraer C-390 Millennium.<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Why is the US Air Force regenerating KC-10 Extender tankers?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A US Air Force request for information posted on 7 October 2026 seeks companies to regenerate up to four retired KC-10 Extender tankers from the Davis-Monthan boneyard, return them to service and deliver them as Excess Defense Articles to an unnamed partner nation in North Africa. It is market research, not a contract.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which country could receive the KC-10 Extender tankers?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Air Force notice names only \u201ca partner nation in North Africa.\u201d TWZ analysis points to Egypt and Morocco as the likeliest candidates, because both fly large F-16 fleets that refuel by boom, and neither currently operates a boom-equipped tanker. Neither government has commented on the notice.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many KC-10 Extender tankers were built?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">McDonnell Douglas built 60 KC-10 Extenders for the US Air Force. The first flew in July 1980 and the type entered service in 1981. One was destroyed in a ground-maintenance fire at Barksdale in 1987. The last USAF KC-10 flew to the Davis-Monthan boneyard on 26 September 2024.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What made the KC-10 Extender special as a tanker?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The KC-10 Extender carried both a flying boom and a centreline hose-and-drogue system, so one aircraft could refuel boom-receptacle jets such as the F-16 and probe-equipped aircraft on the same sortie. Based on the DC-10 airliner, it carries up to 356,000 lb of fuel, nearly twice as much as the KC-135, and a large cargo load.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What are Excess Defense Articles?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Excess Defense Articles are surplus US military equipment that the Pentagon can transfer to partner nations, often at reduced cost or none. In the KC-10 Extender case, the airframes would come from storage, while the regeneration, ferry flights, in-country contractor support and training described in the notice would make up most of the work.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When are responses to the KC-10 Extender notice due?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Responses to the KC-10 Extender request for information, notice FA8625-27-R-B001, are due on 28 October 2026. The full requirement contains Controlled Unclassified Information and is released only to companies that request it with their CAGE code. The Air Force says responses are not offers and no contract will be awarded on this notice alone.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why is the US Air Force regenerating KC-10 Extender tankers?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A US Air Force request for information posted on 7 October 2026 seeks companies to regenerate up to four retired KC-10 Extender tankers from the Davis-Monthan boneyard, return them to service and deliver them as Excess Defense Articles to an unnamed partner nation in North Africa. It is market research, not a contract.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Which country could receive the KC-10 Extender tankers?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Air Force notice names only \u201ca partner nation in North Africa.\u201d TWZ analysis points to Egypt and Morocco as the likeliest candidates, because both fly large F-16 fleets that refuel by boom, and neither currently operates a boom-equipped tanker. Neither government has commented on the notice.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many KC-10 Extender tankers were built?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"McDonnell Douglas built 60 KC-10 Extenders for the US Air Force. The first flew in July 1980 and the type entered service in 1981. One was destroyed in a ground-maintenance fire at Barksdale in 1987. The last USAF KC-10 flew to the Davis-Monthan boneyard on 26 September 2024.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What made the KC-10 Extender special as a tanker?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The KC-10 Extender carried both a flying boom and a centreline hose-and-drogue system, so one aircraft could refuel boom-receptacle jets such as the F-16 and probe-equipped aircraft on the same sortie. Based on the DC-10 airliner, it carries up to 356,000 lb of fuel, nearly twice as much as the KC-135, and a large cargo load.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What are Excess Defense Articles?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Excess Defense Articles are surplus US military equipment that the Pentagon can transfer to partner nations, often at reduced cost or none. 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The Air Force says responses are not offers and no contract will be awarded on this notice alone.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/amarg-boneyard-davis-monthan-aircraft-storage-arizona\/\">Four Thousand Aircraft in the Desert<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/chinese-yy-20-tanker-refuels-egyptian-rafale-eagles-of-civilization-2026\/\">Chinese Y-20 Tanker Refuels an Egyptian Rafale in a First<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/morocco-first-f-16-block-72-first-flight-greenville-2026\/\">Morocco\u2019s First F-16 Block 72 Takes Flight in Greenville<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/kc-46a-foreign-military-sales-ceiling-19-1-billion-2026\/\">KC-46A Exports: America Just Tripled Its Tanker Sales Ceiling<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A US Air Force notice posted on 7 October seeks companies to regenerate up to four retired KC-10 Extender tankers from Davis-Monthan and deliver them to an unnamed partner nation in North Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":27394146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27394155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>KC-10 Extender: Boneyard Tankers for 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