Britain’s VC10 Tankers Hit the “Through-Life” End of Through-Life Support

VC10 & Tornado F3s

As of 2002, the RAF had 19 of its 4-engined VC10 aerial tankers in service. These sleek aircraft with the unusual engine arrangement form the backbone of its aerial tanker fleet, and continued to do so for about another decade until the new Airbus A330 MRTTs began entering service as part of a pathbreaking private-public partnership deal.

VC10s also had an early role in the RAF’s pursuit of a “future contracting for availability” approach across its fleets, which aims to pay for available planes rather than for man-hours and spare parts. In September 2013, the British-designed VC10 fleet reached the end of its contributions to operations and to military contracting, and retired.

Rapid Fire Sept. 23, 2013: Is a Defense-Centric CR the Way Out for DoD Budget?

• US Senator Ted Cruz [R-TX] told Fox News that department-specific continuing resolutions, starting with defense, should be considered by Congress to avoid a complete government shutdown, if it comes to that. Sen. Tom Coburn [R-OK] thinks the effort to defund Obamacare can’t be a successful tactic beyond raising awareness about the healthcare law’s shortcomings. Still, expect several days of procedural nonsense of the kind only the US Congress can conjure.