United States In March 1981, the first KC-10 was delivered to the Air Force's
Strategic Air Command (SAC) at
Barksdale AFB. In 1982 a newly renamed
22d Air Refueling Wing, formerly the 22d Bombardment Wing, was re-equipped with KC-10A Extenders and became the second Air Force unit to operate the new tankers. The 60th and final KC-10 was delivered on 29 November 1988. The KC-10s served with SAC until 1992, when they were reassigned to the newly established
Air Mobility Command. The USAF's KC-10s were stationed primarily at
Travis AFB, California, and
McGuire AFB, now part of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, in New Jersey. and two
F/A-18Cs prepare to refuel from a KC-10 in 2005 over the
Persian Gulf. In 1986, when faced with refusals of basing and overflight rights from continental European countries during
Operation El Dorado Canyon, the U.S. was forced to use the UK-based
F-111s in the air-strikes against
Libya. The KC-10s and KC-135s allowed 29 F-111s, along with other Air Force and Navy aircraft, to reach their targets. In 1991, the KC-10 played a key role during
Operations Desert Shield and
Desert Storm. KC-10s facilitated the deployment of tactical, strategic, and transport aircraft to
Saudi Arabia. In the early stages of Operation Desert Shield, aerial refueling was key to the rapid airlift of materiel and forces. In addition to refueling airlift aircraft, the KC-10, along with the smaller KC-135, moved thousands of tons of cargo and thousands of troops in support of the massive buildup. The KC-10 and the KC-135 conducted about 51,700 separate refueling operations and delivered 125 million gallons (475 million liters) of fuel without missing a single scheduled rendezvous. The Air Force considered retiring its fleet of KC-10 tankers in response to sequestration budget cuts as part of the service's FY 2015 budget. A "vertical chop" to divest all KC-10s was suggested because there are fewer KC-10s than KC-135s, having three different tanker models in service after the introduction of the
KC-46 would be costly, and a "horizontal cut" across the refueling fleets would achieve small efficiencies. Some believed retiring the KC-10 would not benefit the Air Force, given that it is equipped with both boom and hose-and-drogue refueling systems and the fleet's relatively young age. At first, officials claimed that the initial focus on retiring the KC-10 in September 2013 was a "trial balloon" to call attention to Air Force operating cost issues. In early 2013, the KC-10 had a per hour flying cost of $21,170 and a mission capable rate of 87 percent. A FY 2015 budget plan did not include cuts to the KC-10. In July 2020, the first US KC-10 to be retired, tail number 86-0036, was transferred to the
309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) for storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. In July 2021, the 2d ARS was the first KC-10 squadron to start conversion to the KC-46. In August 2021, the KC-10 took part in the largest non-combatant evacuation in support of Operation Allies refuge and contributing to the safe evacuation of more than 124,000 Afghan refugees. In January 2023, the USAF announced that all KC-10s were to be retired by 30 September 2024. The KC-10 flew its last combat sortie for the USAF on 5 October 2023. On 26 September 2024, the KC-10 flew its final sortie on tail number 79-1948 bound for the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
Netherlands The two Dutch KDC-10s were used for both refueling and transport. They were stationed on
Eindhoven Airport as part of the 334th Transport Squadron. Of the 5,500 hours flown in the first three years of use, the aircraft were used in their tanker role for 50% of the time. Besides being used by the air force and NATO allies, the KDC-10s were used to support
peacekeeping and
humanitarian aid operations. Of the first three years, 32% of the flight hours were used for peacekeeping and humanitarian aid. The KDC-10s in Dutch service were replaced with the
Airbus A330 MRTT. The first aircraft, registered T-264/'Prins Bernhard' and due for a major service, was withdrawn from use in November 2019, prior to being transferred to its new owner,
Omega Aerial Refueling Services, an American defense contractor. The last KDC-10, registered T-235/'Jan Scheffer' remained in Dutch service until October 2021. The aircraft left The Netherlands bound for service with Omega in October 2021. They were converted from DC-10s and provide probe and drogue refueling capabilities from wing pods similar to the KC-10. In June and July 2011, Omega Air's KDC-10 supported three
Royal Australian Air Force's
F/A-18 Hornets, en route to
Red Flag – Alaska. In 2019, Omega agreed to purchase the Netherlands' two KDC-10s. One was received in November 2019, and the second delivered in October 2021. ==Variants==