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KC-10 Extender Related News »

• Rockwell, Boeing and Honeywell team to pursue KC-10 upgrade program
• Rumsfeld says RFP for replacement of tanker fleet should be out by Jan. '07
• Pentagon may buy 15-20 aerial tankers a year
• Subsidy rule added to tanker bid
• US Air Force says tanker info request to go out Tuesday

The KC-10 deploys fighter aircraft, including support equipment and personnel, nonstop to any point on the globe. It increases the payload/range of cargo airlifters with air refueling, and it augments the airlift fleet by carrying cargo and personnel.

A derivative of the Boeing commercial DC-10-30 convertible freighter, the KC-10 is powered by three General Electric CF6-50C2 turbofan engines. All nonessential systems and equipment are removed from the DC-10 and those necessary for the KC-10 mission added. These include additional fuel tanks in the lower fuselage compartments, advanced air refueling boom, independent hose reel/drogue system, remote air refueling operators station (KDC-10), air refueling receptacle and military avionics.

By employing its refueling boom or hose/drogue system, the KC-10 can refuel a wide variety of U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircraft, as well as aircraft from allied nations. It can refuel both receptacle-equipped and probe-equipped aircraft on the same flight.

Recent developments:

Aug. 16th, 2006 | Rockwell, Boeing and Honeywell team to pursue KC-10 upgrade program

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL), Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Honeywell (NYSE: HON) have signed an agreement to jointly pursue the KC-10 Aircraft Modernization Program (AMP). The KC-10 AMP program calls for upgrading the fleet's avionics to meet Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) requirements and will also include other airframe related upgrades. Under the terms of the teaming agreement, Rockwell Collins will serve as the prime contractor and ...
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May. 19th, 2006 | Rumsfeld says RFP for replacement of tanker fleet should be out by Jan. '07

A final request for proposals (RFP) to replace the U.S. Air Force's aging KC-135 tanker fleet should be out in January 2007, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said May 17. "The draft request for proposals is expected to be out in September of this year and it should, if things work out properly, end up with a formal request for proposals by January of '07," Rumsfeld told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee. An analysis of alternatives by the RAND Corp. earlier this year (DAILY, ...
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May. 10th, 2006 | Pentagon may buy 15-20 aerial tankers a year

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department tentatively plans to buy 15 to 20 aerial refueling tankers a year over two decades, possibly from more than one manufacturer, the Pentagon's top acquisition official said on Tuesday. The comments by Kenneth Krieg, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, suggest the likely scope of a high-profile competition expected to pit Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) against a team made up of Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC.N: Quote, Pro...
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Apr. 26th, 2006 | Subsidy rule added to tanker bid

Boeing got a sweet surprise Tuesday in the fine print of the Air Force announcement that formally resumed the Defense Department's quest for new refueling tankers. As one of the conditions for bidding this year on the multibillion-dollar contract, the team competing with Boeing — Northrop Grumman and its partner European Aeronautic Defence & Space, or EADS — is required to disclose any government subsidies. Subsidies and "launch aid" for commercial airplanes made by EADS, the parent compan...
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Apr. 25th, 2006 | US Air Force says tanker info request to go out Tuesday

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Air Force said Tuesday it will issue a request for information on new tanker planes, in the official opening salvo of a long-awaited tanker competition. The Air Force has struggled with how to replace its aging tanker planes for years, ever since a $23 billion plan to lease and buy Boeing Co. (BA) planes fell through. Now the Pentagon wants to hold a broad competition that may consider used aircraft and commercial refueling services, as well as new planes...
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KC-10 Extender Related News »

• Pentagon Officials Give Green Light to New KC-X Tanker Program
• Air Force tanker gets nod; Boeing, Airbus to compete
• Air Force seeks concepts for tankers to replace KC-135s
• Tanker RFI 'very, very near,' Air Force leaders say
• Rand study puts tanker recap costs at $200B over 50 years
• Air Force presses case for faster replacement of tankers
• Pentagon gives details on tanker bidding
• US Air Force budget has $8 bln for tankers by 2011
• Tanker-proposal request expected by autumn
• Boeing Awaiting Details Of Air Force Tanker Study
• USAF tanker could cost $200B
• Pentagon tanker study leaves time frame in air
• Bill could let Airbus join Air Force bid
• U.S. Air Force yanks tanker paper under McCain threat
• Competition To Modernize USAF Tankers Could Take Years
• Air Force grounds 29 refueling tankers over safety issue

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