A damaged U.S. Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker has flown again after more than four months of repairs and departed Ben Gurion Airport in Israel for the United States on 2 August. The aircraft, serial 63-8017, was rebuilt with a donor tail after sustaining major damage in a mid-air collision over Iraq in March, when it diverted to Israel for recovery and repair.
The tanker is assigned to the 314th Air Refueling Squadron and 940th Air Refueling Wing at Beale Air Force Base in California. Its replacement vertical stabiliser reportedly came from another KC-135 airframe, 63-8002, creating the mismatched appearance that prompted the “franken-tanker” nickname. During its post-repair movement, the aircraft used the callsign RCH564.
The March incident formed part of U.S. operations over Iraq. One KC-135 was lost and six crew members aboard the other tanker were killed. U.S. Central Command later said the collision was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire. The return to flight is a rare example of a combat-damaged military tanker being restored through a major structural swap rather than retired.