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Posted on 08/13/2019 2:56:43 PM PDT by jazusamo
The iconic A-10 Thunderbolt II will be flying into the late 2030s thanks to a re-winging project completed by the U.S. Air Force.
Air Force Materiel Command said in a press release on Monday that 162 A-10s received new wings thanks to a $1.1 billion project that began in 2011.
The contract, awarded to Boeing in 2007, required the creation of new parts for the plane’s fuselage.
“At the end of the program, making sure we had all the pieces and parts that we needed to make that happen required a really significant team effort,” said Stephen Zaiser, director of the 571st, Air Force Times reported Tuesday...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The “Devil’s Cross” keeps flying and fighting.
I love that aircraft.
Good.
There is not a better attack plane, nor is there any adequate substitute.
I almost went crazy when the AF said it was ‘too slow’ and wanted to replace it with (I think) the F-18 or F16.
Thank God cooler heads prevailed.
Bravo!
Bravissimo!
Yep, good news all around.
The Air Force really doesn’t want a single seater that isn’t a $100 million stealthy, go-fast. I’ve suggested that the AF turn over all the A-10s to the Army, who love them.
It’s like Rumsfeld said... (paraphrasing) you fight with the force you have, not what you’d like to have. The A-10 is still relevant because we still (mostly) fight in permissive air environments. That won’t necessarily be the case in the next fight, but I don’t have a crystal ball so your guess is as good as mine.
Ping
The A-10 is the modern day version of whistling death.
Our guys love it. The bad guys are scared of it.
Mission accomplished.
Yeah. That’s nice.
Too bad the people at Republic in Farmingdale got canned 32 years and retired to trailer parks in Sarasota or wherever.
Think they would have liked that billion dollar contract instead of a company that never built anything like it.
Nothing more sad that I’ve ever seen in aviation then the crumbling bricks of the old Republic factory.
I’m glad to hear this. The A-10 is a great airplane. It came into active service years after I got out of the USAF (1974), but it is one of those iconic airplanes that just makes one smile.
It was my very bestest friend in the ‘90 to ‘91 war.
Love the A-10 and hope it remains effective for longer than the late 2030s.
I consider this to be a great alternative to replacement.
That cost was quite frugal.
I note the 160 ballpark figure. Is that the totality of the A-10s we have in current inventory?
I’ll check.
I found this article that addressed 173 A-10s receiving wing upgrades and holding another 109 back for reserve, or the bone yard.
It would seem to me that at a cost of another billion or so, the rest of the fleet could be upgraded.
Having about 280 of these aircraft on hand, seems like a ver good fiscal choice.
Why toss them?
We need to remember that this world is still unstable, and we may have to fight in several theaters again some day.
Keeping the ability to do it, is the best way I know of making sure we are less likely to have to.
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1995 to 2030 not a bad SLEP! The AF first tried to get rid of the A-10 in the mid 1990s with the effort getting underway in 1989. Capt “Muck” Brown, assigned to the 422 TES at Nellis came to Hurlburt to see if he could get a gunsip assignment to stay in the CAS community.
I was honored to spend a duty day with him “re-bluing” him. He went back to Nellis and started to good fight to keep the A-10 on active duty.
Fortunately world events provided massive justification for his effort!
Unfortunately, “Muck” passed on several years ago. But, there a whole lot of gruntss made it home because of his efforts.
Good on Y’r Mate!!
There was an AF General who said the A10 was designed around the nose cannon, The F15 around the radar and the F16 around the ejector seat. ;)
For the purposes of the exercise, I was dead, but in reality, nothing made me happier than knowing those are on our side.
Is that the plane they used to call the Warthog?
I agree, it’s a plane we may well need and sooner than some think.
It wouldn’t surprise me if many of those 100+ are sitting in the desert outside of Tucson.
Is that the plane they used to call the Warthog?
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