A former Air Force tanker is up for sale in a KC-10 auction, complete with a multimillion-dollar price tag, strict buyer requirements, and a long list of caveats.
Do you remember that song Grown Up Christmas List? The one about setting aside childhood wishes and asking for things that really matter.
This Christmas, though, there is at least one very specific, very audacious item you could add back onto the list. A former United States Air Force KC-10 Extender tanker.
Yes, really.
A McDonnell Douglas KC-10A Extender is currently up for public auction through GSA Auctions, the federal government’s online marketplace operated by the US General Services Administration. The GSA’s job is to sell surplus and excess property from federal agencies, which means everything from office furniture and vehicles to, apparently, strategic air refueling tankers.
It is 40 years old. It is not airworthy. It is not FAA-compliant. And even if someone somehow found the time, money, and patience to reverse all of that, it is entirely possible this aircraft may never legally fly again.
Still, if you have ever wanted a strategic air refueling tanker for Christmas, Santa might finally have a shot.
Meet the Star of the KC-10 Auction
The aircraft in question is the KC-10A Extender, tail number 87-0119, a mothballed tanker currently stored at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
Powered by three General Electric CF6-50C2 engines, the aircraft first flew on 16 March 1987 and entered US Air Force service later that year. It spent nearly four decades supporting aerial refueling and airlift missions around the world before making its final flight on 26 September 2024.
The Air Force officially retired the KC-10 fleet in September 2024, closing the book on 44 years of service for the type.
This particular aircraft is listed as “non-flyable, not FAA compliant,” and sold strictly “as is.”
Bidding opened to the public on 10 December 2025. As of 15 December 2025, the highest (and, at the time of this writing, only) bid stands at $5 million. The auction is scheduled to close on 7 January 2026.
The Timing Could Not Be Worse for a Comeback
Even if a buyer had dreams of restoring the KC-10 to airworthy condition, there is a major regulatory roadblock standing in the way.
Following the fatal crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville last month, the FAA moved to ground all DC-10 and MD-11 aircraft. As of now, there is no publicly announced timeline for lifting that grounding.
The KC-10 is, at its core, a heavily modified DC-10-30CF airframe. That means this aircraft falls squarely under the same umbrella as the grounded civilian tri jets. Even a fully restored KC-10 could find itself legally unable to fly for the foreseeable future.
Should the grounding ever be lifted, the burden would still rest entirely on the buyer to bring the aircraft into full FAA compliance. That includes obtaining all necessary inspections, certifications, and modifications under 14 CFR regulations. The listing makes it clear that neither the Air Force nor AMARG owns the technical data or provides expert support. Buyers would be responsible for coordinating directly with the original equipment manufacturer for all required documentation.
In other words, Santa is not throwing in a maintenance manual.
What You Are Really Buying
From the beginning, the KC-10 was not just another tanker.
Introduced in 1981, the Extender was developed by McDonnell Douglas as a heavy tanker to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker fleet. Based on the DC-10 commercial trijet, the KC-10 was designed to do more of everything.
With three main wing fuel tanks supplemented by three massive tanks beneath the cargo floor, the KC-10 could carry more than 356,000 pounds of fuel. That was nearly twice the offload capability of a KC-135.
Fuel was primarily delivered via a flying boom, but the KC-10 also featured an integrated hose-and-drogue system. This allowed it to refuel US Navy, Marine Corps, and allied aircraft without modification. The aircraft could also carry up to 75 personnel and 170,000 pounds of cargo, giving it a true dual role as both tanker and airlifter.
The Air Force ultimately acquired 60 KC-10s. One was lost in a 1987 explosion and fire at Barksdale Air Force Base, leaving 59 to serve until retirement. They are now being replaced by the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, a military derivative of the 767.
It is unclear whether the integrated hose-and-drogue system remains installed on the aircraft currently offered for sale.
The Demilitarization Reality Check
Before a buyer could even think about future plans, there is mandatory demilitarization to deal with.
The auction requires the removal or permanent deactivation of a long list of military-specific systems. That includes secure communications equipment, encryption devices, military avionics, survival gear, and nearly the entire aerial refueling system.
The boom assembly, refueling pumps, motors, hose reels, wing pods, and refueling controls must all be removed. Fuel lines must be capped and sealed. The aerial refueling operator station is to be completely stripped and physically secured, including permanently fastening the floor hatch closed.
Even the formation lights and refueling observation window must be electrically disabled by cutting wiring and removing circuit breakers.
The estimated cost for demilitarization alone is roughly $35,000. That figure does not include transportation, inspections, storage, or any attempt at restoration.
If you’re interested in bidding at the KC-10 auction, we will include the required demil list below for your planning purposes.
A Very Grown-Up Christmas Wish
At some point, we all stop asking Santa for toys and start asking for socks, batteries, and maybe a decent night’s sleep. That’s the whole point of Grown Up Christmas List. Practical wishes. Sensible wishes.
And yet, here we are, staring at a former US Air Force KC-10 Extender with a bid button and a closing date, and thinking, yeah, that’s tempting.
No, it probably will never fly again. No, it definitely will not fit down your chimney. And yes, explaining a $5 million tanker parked in the desert to your spouse would be a conversation all its own.
But there’s something wonderfully absurd about the idea that, in December, you can casually scroll past holiday decorations and used office furniture and stumble onto a strategic air refueling tanker. Just sitting there. Waiting.
So if Santa happens to be browsing GSA Auctions this year, maybe skip the cookies and milk and leave him a note about this KC-10 auction instead. All you really want is a KC-10 Extender, some FAA approvals, a demil crew, and a miracle or two.
After all, it is Christmas.
