June 24, 2010 - Boeing announced that it has received a $216 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the service's 59-jet KC-10 tanker fleet with a new communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system.

The KC-10 upgrade will enable the fleet to comply with the forecasted 2015 CNS/ATM Federal Aviation Administration International Civil Aviation Organization standards, which allow shared access within both civil and military airspace, enabling tanker refueling operations worldwide.

"As air traffic continues to increase, modern CNS/ATM systems become essential for communicating precise flight data and obtaining the most direct routing," said Mike Harris, Boeing vice president of Weapon Systems Modernization. "This upgrade is critical to the Air Force for pilots' safety, mission effectiveness and lower operational costs."

In the AAR role, the KC-10s have operated largely in the strategic refueling of large number of tactical aircraft on ferry flights and the refueling of other strategic transport aircraft. Conversely, the KC-135 fleet has operated largely in the in-theater tactical role. The KC-10 fleet facilitated the deployment of tactical, strategic, and transport aircraft to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield.

There are 59 KC-10 Extenders currently in service. The KC-10 has a significantly larger fuel capacity than the Air Force's other tanker plane, the KC-135 with over 440 in service in 2009. The USAF's KC-10s are stationed primarily at Travis AFB, California and McGuire AFB, New Jersey. USAF KC-10s have been in heavy use supporting military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through 2009. They perform refueling missions the bulk of the time with cargo and personnel transport also conducted.