HAECO Special Services, a division of HAECO Americas, has recently been awarded a new subcontract from L-3 Vertex Aerospace (L-3) to continue and expand its McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender maintenance programme for the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Under the new subcontract, HAECO Special Services will continue to provide depot maintenance and repair (C-checks), drop-in-aircraft maintenance, and deployment of contractor field service teams as necessary to support the entire USAF fleet of 59 KC-10 aircraft.
HAECO Special Services has been working on the USAF KC-10 fleet since 2010. To support the increased workload, the division is adding 155 employees to those currently working on the KC-10 programme, as well as expanding work into a second, dedicated hangar at its Greensboro, North Carolina facility in the US.
The KC-10 Extender is a DC-10 cargo variant used by the USAF to refuel other aircraft inflight. The aircraft is designed to carry over 180,000 lbs. of fuel, and has a specialised boom on its rear underside that can extend and connect to other aircraft during flight to deliver fuel.