Following the 2006 North Korean nuclear test , a pair of VC10s were dispatched to Okinawa , Japan to undertake nuclear debris tests ; this unusual task was performed using specialised sampling pods which replace the refuelling pods equipped as standard . During Operation Ellamy , Britain 's contribution to the 2011 military intervention in Libya , a small number of VC10s were dispatched to bases in the Mediterranean and were used to refuel NATO strike aircraft being used in the theatre
2006 North Korean nuclear test
2006 North Korean nuclear test
Vickers VC10