Northrop Grumman recently delivered the 150th KC-10 Extender aircraft from a maintenance depot to the United States Air Force. The progr...
Northrop Grumman recently delivered the 150th KC-10 Extender aircraft from a maintenance depot to the United States Air Force. The program's depots are located in Lake Charles, Louisiana and Greensboro, North Carolina.
The KC-10 Extender can replenish the fuel of other aircraft midair while transporting personnel, equipment and patients on overseas deployments and aeromedical evacuations.
Northrop Grumman has also made product reliability improvements in the aircraft's CF6-50 engine overhaul program, contributing to a 15-year high in engine fleet performance. Additionally, the company achieved advancements in system modernization, engineering and depot production, which have helped produce a three-year sustained mission-capable rate that exceeds the Air Force's 85 percent standard.
Northrop Grumman has served as prime contractor on the program since 2009. In partnership with its teammates TIMCO Line Care, AAR, Chromalloy and MTU Maintenance, Northrop Grumman provides contractor logistics support, depot maintenance, engine management and overhaul, and supply chain management for the aircraft.
The KC-10 can transport up to 75 people and nearly 170,000 pounds (76,560 kilograms) of cargo a distance of about 4,400 miles (7,040 kilometers) unrefueled.
Based on a modified Boeing DC-10 trijet airliner, the KC-10A entered USAF service in 1981. Although it retains 88 percent of systems commonality with the DC-10, it has additional systems and equipment necessary for its Air Force mission.
These additions include military avionics; aerial refueling boom and aerial refueling hose and drogue; seated aerial refueling operator station; and aerial refueling receptacle and satellite communications.
