I'm pleasantly shocked by the 43 years of the KC10. Everyone's aware of the longevity of the 135- I just would never have said the 10 was so long. Brilliant!

CG

Wonder the sort of airframe hours any particular 10 or 135 has logged, certainly long service, then again might wonder about the venerable 52 as well. Damn things last longer than we do.

At least for the KC-46, the USAF said ~1,000 hours/year.
By comparison, most commercial aircraft are in the 3,000-4,000 hours/year range.
I do find it interesting that - in spite of it's alleged advantages in capabilities, they are retiring the KC-10 before the 20+ year older KC-135s.

You don’t save much money cutting a few airframes, you cut money by cutting fleets along along with all their engineering, manpower and logistic tail.

There are between 400-600 KC-135 in active, ANG or reserve service - the KC-10 fleet numbers around 60 airframes….

Well 2 more KC-10's are presently making their way up the NE coast of UK on their journey "home".

I think these were part of "Clean" flight taking the Hill F-35's from Mildenhall back home

When tanker management and tanking was part of my daily life, the KC-10 was great to have on task.
So long, thanks for all of the hard work. :ok:

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023...o-go-it-alone/

Lockheed drops US Air Force tanker bid; partner Airbus to go it alone

WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has endedits effort to compete for a U.S. Air Force contract to build the service’s next wave of 75 refueling tankers.

But Airbus, with whom Lockheed Martin had planned to build the proposed LMXT strategic tanker, will still compete for the KC-135 recapitalization. LMXT would have been based on Airbus’s A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport.

“Airbus remains committed to providing the U.S. Air Force and our warfighters with the most modern and capable tanker on the market and will formally respond to the United States Air Force KC-135 recapitalization” request for information, an Airbus spokesperson said in a Monday statement to Defense News.

“The A330 U.S.-MRTT is a reliable choice for the U.S. Air Force; one that will deliver affordability, proven performance and unmatched capabilities.”

Lockheed spokeswoman Stephanie Stinn said in an earlier statement the company had decided not to respond to the Air Force’s RFI. The news was first reported by Reuters.

Stinn said Lockheed plans to transition the team and resources working on the proposed LMXT strategic tanker to other programs, including the next-generation aerial refueling system, or NGAS, program.

In a follow-up email, Stinn said the Air Force’s decision earlier this year to accelerate NGAS was one of several factors that led it to drop its pursuit of LMXT and focus on the next-generation tanker, along with other elements in the recent RFI. Lockheed declined to say how much it and Airbus spent to develop LMXT.…..

I have to wonder if they’ll buy the KC-10s as they are retired or if they’ll go into the AMARG, in which case if there is a civil market for the MRTT as an end-run around Congress and Boeing…

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023...pore-exercise/

Commercial tanker refuels US Air Force fighters for Singapore exercise

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force conducted its first aerial refueling of fighter aircraft by a commercial tanker on Nov. 6.

The commercial refueling of F-16 Fighting Falcons from Osan Air Base in South Korea took place as part of the Commando Sling 23 joint exercise conducted in Singapore…

This aerial refueling marked a major step forward for the U.S. Air Force’s efforts to broaden this capability. The service has considered augmenting its refueling operations with commercial tankers for several years. Earlier this year, a commercial tanker refueled an E-3 Sentry and an RC-135 Rivet Joint during an Air Combat Command exercise, the service said in a Nov. 9 release.

This month’s refueling during Commando Sling was carried out by a KDC-10 aircraft, the service said, and photographs showed the tanker bore the markings of Omega Air Refueling.

The Virginia-based company, which formed in 2004, has been a prime contractor to the U.S. Navy for commercial refueling services since 2007. It has also supported the air forces of U.S. allies such as Australia and NATO nations.

Lt. Col. Curtis Holtman, the air mobility operations chief for Pacific Air Forces, said this refueling served as a “proof of concept” to show a commercial tanker can gas up the Air Force’s fighters during exercises and training, while keeping its own tankers available for real-world operations….

Photographs showed at least four F-16 jets from Osan’s 36th Fighter Squadron flying alongside the Omega tanker on their way to Singapore. The KDC-10 can carry up to 247,000 pounds of fuel to gas up other aircraft.

Holtman said this tanker carried more than 40 passengers and four pallet positions worth of cargo to show how it can also execute airlift missions. The KDC-10 can carry up to 100,000 pounds of freight or passengers.

Holtman said commercial tankers are expected to also refuel F-15C Eagle and F-22 Raptor fighters by the time the exercise ends.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....830bb4a399.jpg

https://www.defensenews.com/industry...m-and-lost-7b/

‘Cautionary tale’: How Boeing won a US Air Force program and lost $7B

Impressive, IIRC however the KC10 total fuel capacity was over 100K greater

At 356000 pounds it carried more than a 747 Classic but with one less engine

https://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...-to-the-KC-135

Merlin Signs an Agreement with the United States Air Force as First Step Towards Bringing Uncrewed Flight Capabilities to the KC-135

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merlin, the leading developer of safe, autonomous flight technology for fixed-wing aircraft, today announced it has entered into an agreement with the United States Air Force (USAF).

In collaboration with Air Mobility Command (AMC) and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Merlin will design, integrate, test, and demonstrate aspects of the Merlin Pilot on the KC-135 Stratotanker for the first time.

The multi-year partnership is focused on using a stepwise approach starting with reducing crew workload, then proceeding to reduced crew operations. As the system gains experience and trust, it will pave the way for autonomous uncrewed operations of the KC-135; an unprecedented new capability for AMC and the USAF.

Merlin and the USAF’s collaboration will include, but is not limited to, system integration, ground testing, and extended flight demonstrations…….

So, "autonomous uncrewed operations"? It looks like C-135 variants will stretch to the designation's 100th birthday in some 20 years. Well done, Boeing.

they'll be more expendable than anything more recent................

The autonomous systems won't be bothered when a door blows out !

Being more serious about it though, what is driving the conversion to an autonomous operation of the KC135. It can't be crew cost savings, and it is still going to have all the old fashioned systems so the fuel transfer, aircraft flight envelope capability and limited (non existent ?) stealth is not going to add any additional benefit to the mission. Granted it could be operated further into the danger zone with no risk of loss of life, but if you're expecting that it could be more disposable that is an additional risk to the other aircrew who will be relying on it.
So, just because you potentially can, why would you, rather than develop a stealthier more capable unmanned airframe.
After all, in the development of autonomous vehicles, we see the use of Tesla's and the like. Nobody appears to be trying a driverless Ford Cortina.

Given the list of legacy systems on the basic aircraft compared to, say, a 757/767/777, the lack of redundancy etc., an autonomous C-135 could hardly be as safe. Consider the basic requirements for autoland and auto rollout just to begin with. I’m surprised they didn’t ask Musk to do this for them.

It would seem to me that designing and building a flying gas station based on a fully mature existing civil airliner isn’t exactly rocket science. It is truly amazing how Boeing has managed to totally fu*k it up :ugh:

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024...wo-years-late/

Revamped KC-46 vision system slipping into 2026, nearly two years late

The rollout of the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker’s new remote vision system will likely slip into 2026, placing it nearly two years behind schedule, according to the Air Force’s top acquisition official.

Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the House Armed Services subcommittee on seapower and projection forces that schedule pressures on the vision system, known as RVS 2.0, are placing in doubt the most recent goal of releasing it to the fleet by October 2025. As a result, RVS 2.0 could end up being nearly two years late.

Hunter indicated the FAA’s airworthiness certification process — the completion of which will officially close out the system’s design approval — is one of the factors again delaying RVS 2.0. Boeing and its primary subcontractor, Collins Aerospace, are the main companies working on RVS 2.0.

“There is some schedule pressure there,” Hunter told lawmakers during a March 12 hearing on the service’s proposed fiscal 2025 budget. “Depending on the completion of the FAA airworthiness certification process, I cannot guarantee you that we would be in a position to field [RVS 2.0] in ‘25. It may be ‘26 – and that is actually likely, I think it will probably field in ‘26.”

Boeing declined to comment and referred Defense News’ queries to the Air Force, which has not yet responded to follow-up questions.….

Hunter also said the KC-46 is still not completely cleared to refuel A-10 Warthog attack aircraft, due to a longstanding issue with the stiffness of its refueling boom and the A-10′s thrust.….

The Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation said in its fiscal 2023 annual report that the new boom actuator’s flight testing could start later this year, with flight testing of RVS 2.0 expected to start in 2025.

Hunter also told lawmakers he believes the improved video clarity of RVS 2.0 will open up new opportunities to add autonomous capabilities in the KC-46′s refueling operations. And the Air Force could introduce more autonomous capabilities in the KC-46′s cockpit to reduce the pressure on pilots, he said, who can become “task-saturated” during the “dicier” moments of the refueling process.

The Air Force expects to have 102 KC-46s in its fleet by the end of this year, and 118 by the end of 2025. The service is now on contract with Boeing for 139 KC-46s, and plans to buy 179 in all.

Wow from the linked article, it says 2.0 vision system will now arrive in October 2025, THEN installations can begin? I'm tired of the "supply chain issues" and FAA certification excuses.

'Retired' F-117 Will Undergo Air-To-Air Refueling Certification With KC-46

The U.S. Air Force plans to complete the certification of the F-117s with the KC-46 by the end of this month.

Read more below:

https://theaviationist.com/2024/03/1...on-with-kc-46/