US Air Force Air Refueling Squadron Takes KC-10A Extender On Final Flight

Among other US Air Force platforms facing retirement is the McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extender aerial refueling platform. On June 6, Travis Air Force Base in California had the 349th Air Mobility Wing, 79th Air Refueling Squadron retire 83-0078 and place the KC-10A in the care of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona’s 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group – also known as “The Boneyard”.

Time to retire “Outlaw”

According to Planespotters.net, 83-0078—also known as “Outlaw” to her crews—was 389 on the McDonnell Douglas line in Long Beach, California. The 40.7-year-old KC-10A was delivered to the US Air Force in December 1983 and provided both aerial refueling and transport capabilities.

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However, as a trijet, the KC-10A is not as efficient as a twin-engine aircraft like the Boeing KC-45A Pegasus. According to an October 6, 2023, US Air Force statement, the KC-10s have already flown their last combat mission.

As U.S. Air Force Maj. Joseph Rush, 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS) Commander, shared in the Air Force statement,

“The KC-10 has been the anchor of air refueling in the [Area of Responsibility] AOR since [1991’s Operation] DESERT STORM. … The ability to refuel another aircraft in the air allows for that aircraft to stay airborne longer and extend its capabilities across vast distances. For a fighter, aerial refueling can take a 2-hour unrefueled flight time and turn it into an 8-hour combat mission. That translates to uninterrupted Close Air Support coverage for coalition troops on the ground or Defensive Counter Air coverage to high-value airborne assets in a combat zone.”

Rush also pledged to take the best parts of the KC-10 culture over to the KC-45A. Some of that culture was on display during 83-0079’s retirement.

Keeping history alive

One of those parts of KC-10A culture called out in the US Air Force retirement statement of June 18 was the U.S Air Force Dedicated Crew Chief Program. As 83-0078’s dedicated crew chief, Master Sgt. Kenneth Jarvis shared after 16 years of Air Force service being selected,

“The KC-10 has been really good to me. When the DCC program started assigning jets, I felt a sense of ownership and competition to try and make my aircraft look better than the other guy’s aircraft.”

Also, a point of pride of Master Sgt. Jarvis was 83-0079, winning the 2023 Australian International Airshow’s “Best Tanker of the Year” award. Especially considering the Royal Australian Air Force has her own aerial refueling tankers in the KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport. Below is Master Sgt. Jarvis with his aircraft and signing the nose gear door after turning the KC-10A into the “boneyard”:

To one of the boom operators, Master Sgt. Arriel Bromley, who will move forward to the KC-45A;

Thanks to the magic of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service or DVIDS, you can see Master Sgt. Bromley at work:

One can also see thanks to KOMASpotter on Twitter some snaps of 83-0078’s last days at work:

The US Air Force Reserve also produced a final crew photo:

Photo: US Air Force Reserve

Finally, thanks to MeNMyRC1 on X/Twitter, the retirement flight was tracked:

KC-10As being placed on museum duty

However, some KC-10As are instead of going to the Boneyard being put on museum duty. For instance, the first of 60 KC-10A Extenders was donated to the Air Mobility Command (AMC) Museum at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, on April 26, 2022. Another in 84-0185 is going to the March Field Air Museum in California, with a photo from its journey serving as this story’s cover photo. Finally, the National Museum of the United States Air Force just had Travis Air Force Base deliver 84-0191 to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to put in the National Museum of the United States Air Force’s airpark.

Photo:  Daniel Peterson | 349th Air Mobility Wing | US Air Force

84-0191 was chosen as the particular Extender refueled F-111s attacking Libyan terrorists in 1986. 84-0191 will now sit outside as a tribute to strategic airlift.

Bottom line

As the US Air Force winds down its KC-10A fleet to what is currently the last six, much aviation history is being archived and learned from. 83-0078 may sit in “The Boneyard” but 83-0078’s legacy will live on at Travis Air Force Base in the next generation of aerial refuelers.

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