The US Air Force is seeking industrial partners to return up to four retired KC-10 Extender aerial-refuelling aircraft to service for an unnamed North African partner nation. The proposed Excess Defense Articles transfer would require contractors to recover the tankers from storage, secure flight clearance, ferry them to the recipient and provide three to five years of in-country maintenance, logistics and training support.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center request for information is intended to identify companies capable of delivering the regeneration and sustainment package. Required work includes depot-level restoration, inspections, operational preparation and contractor logistics support after delivery.
The notice does not identify the recipient, aircraft, cost or delivery schedule, and does not represent an approved transfer or contract. Egypt and Morocco have been cited as possible customers, but neither has been officially designated.
The initiative follows the retirement of the final US Air Force KC-10 on 26 September 2024 after more than four decades of service. Most of the fleet was placed in storage at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. Any transfer would therefore require selected aircraft to be regenerated, certified for flight and supported through a substantial return-to-service effort.