[The last thread on this topic must of been lost during the merge.]



USAF Orders Precision Engagement Kits for A-10C

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued June 4, 2007)

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, N.Y., is being awarded a $17,617,414 firm-fixed-price contract modification.

This contract modification will produce and deliver A/OA-10 Aircraft Precision Engagement production kits and associated items to allow the Air Force to modify A/OA-10A aircraft to the A/OA10C PE configuration:

a) Precision Engagement Modification Kits (total 25),
b) Portable Automated Test Sets (total 30),
c) Throttle Quadrant Tester Upgrade (total 5),
d) Third SP103 Single Board Computer (total 25),
e) Stick Grip Attachment (total 30),
f) Throttle Grip Cover (total 357).

At this time, $8,807,707 have been obligated. This work will be complete January 2009.

Headquarters Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8202-05-C-0004/P00022).

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Great to hear the Warthog is still hanging in there. I started my relationship with the A-10A in 1973 (as the AX) and knew it was going to be a great aircraft, despite the bickering about contract award. I was really proud of it in Desert Storm when two "hogs" took out some 32 armord vehicles (mostly tanks)on one sortie. The GAU8 gun was tremendous - so hot they had to reduce the max rate of fire from 4000 to 2000 rpm. It was built to support the troops - and support them it does!

Air Force Reserve to Form A-10 Associate Units

(Source: US Air Force; issued Aug. 22, 2007)

WASHINGTON --- As part of the Air Force's total force integration, Air Force Reserve Command officials are teaming up with Air Combat Command officials to establish two A-10 Thunderbolt II associate units in October.

A classic associate group of about 215 reservists will support the active duty 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. A smaller associate detachment of 14 reservists will augment the A-10 Formal Training Unit at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.

Reservists in the Moody group will fly and maintain the A-10s with the regular component under the classic associate unit structure. The first A-10C Thunderbolt II arrived at Moody Aug. 7. About 50 of the upgraded aircraft will move to the Georgia base as a part of force realignment.

The Moody reservists will operate under their own command structure and report to the 442nd Fighter Wing, an Air Force Reserve A-10 unit at Whiteman AFB, Mo.

Under the associate structure, the reservists at Davis-Monthan AFB will integrate functionally into the FTU but receive administrative support from the 917th Wing at Barksdale AFB, La. The Air Force Reserve wing flies its own A-10s there.

"The associate unit program begun in 1968 has served the Air Force and the Air Force Reserve well over the years," said Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, chief of the Air Force Reserve and AFRC commander. "By sharing equipment, we are able to train more people and make better use of resources."

General Bradley said associate units make good business sense in another way because they capitalize on the experience and skills of reservists. Many reservists receive their training while serving in the regular Air Force before joining the Air Force Reserve.

"Through the associate unit programs, that training investment can be multiplied over and over as people come and go in a unit," General Bradley said.

Development of ACC-gained Reserve fighter associate units began in March 1997 with the launching of the Fighter Reserve Associate Test program. At that time, a dozen reservists worked with the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB, S.C., as part of a FRAT detachment.

The success of that program led to the signing of an agreement in April 2003 by the commanders of ACC and AFRC to establish fighter associate units at ACC F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle locations.

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My neighbor was the chief engineer(Civilian) for Lokheed on this project here at Eglin. Anything you want to know I can fill you in on likely. He loves to talk about the changes coming for the A-10. One story that is sort of funny...the first Maverick they fired here at Eglin with the upgrade went off the range. Some screw up in electronics and the missle lost guidance. It was a one time occurance but funny as hell.

Where did the missile land?

On the range facility, but off the range it was fired at. Eglin Range is monstrous. It has multiple ranges that are used for different missions from Gunship firing ranges to C-130 assult strips. The missle range is huge that they were using, but it went off the reservation so to speak.

Caninedale,
Did your neighbor tell you that Boeing got the contract for the wing rework/updates?

Nope he just left. He is now at Pax River working some new helo project for the navy. The A-10 deal was close enough to finishing that he needed better job security.

New Wings to Secure A-10 Longevity

(Source: U.S. Air Force; issued May 9, 2008)

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. --- New wings are the answer to Air Force concerns on the aging A-10 Thunderbolt II, an airframe flying since 1975.

Air Force officials awarded a contract to Boeing last year requiring 242 new A-10 wings constructed and delivered to depots for installment on the thin-skinned airframes by 2011.

Not all 356 of the Air Force's A-10s require new wings because more than 100 airframes were constructed in the 1980s with "thick skin," giving them a stronger structure, said Master Sgt. Steven Grimes, A-10 maintenance liaison for Air Combat Command.

Those aircraft are rated for 16,000 flying hours, which is estimated to keep them airworthy sometime into 2030, according to Sergeant Grimes. The original thin-skinned A-10s were designed for 8,000 hours and were extended beyond that in the 1990s with depot repairs.

Based on the rate flying hours accumulate, the extension is expected to expire in 2011, which is when the new wings are scheduled to be installed. The new wings will extend the thin-skinned A-10 fleet to 16,000 hours, keeping them flying until about 2030.

Replacing the wings saves the Air Force "a great deal of money over a long period of time," said Lt. Col. Ralph Hansen, ACC A-10 program element monitor and pilot. The value of the Boeing contract is more than $1 billion between 2007 and 2018. Colonel Hansen said that equates to about $4 million per aircraft, a price far below what it would cost to recapitalize the A-10. "You can't buy a business jet for that price," he said.

Maintaining the old wings would require repeated removal, inspection and installation of beef-up straps at A-10 depots, said Tony Mizar, an A-10 depot mechanic and maintenance scheduler.

According to Sergeant Grimes, continually repairing old wings, as opposed to replacing them, would cost approximately $1.3 billion more than the Boeing contract.

The A-10 was designed and produced by Fairchild Republic, which discontinued aircraft production in 1984. This created complications in reproduction of the wings because there are limited extant engineer drawings, said Sergeant Grimes.

For this reason Boeing engineers have developed a three-phase process for the contract, said Jennifer Hogan, Boeing spokeswoman. The first phase is in progress now. It involves modeling the wing and scanning it to duplicate the 3-D model of existing wings. Colonel Hansen said the new wing will be no different from the current wings and will be transparent to pilots and maintainers. The one exception is "incorporation of reliability, maintainability and (production) improvements learned over the years," said Ms. Hogan.

The second phase is manufacture and assembly, and the third phase, set for 2011, is full-rate production and installation on the aircraft.

Wing installations will occur during regularly scheduled depot inductions which will preserve the mission capable rates, said 1st Lt. Nancy Dias, A-10 wing replacement program manager. The wings will fly 10,000 hours, or approximately 25 years, without inspection.

The A-10 is a valuable asset to the Air Force and Army because of its unique capabilities, said Colonel Hansen. It can deliver precision guided weapons at high altitudes, as well as surgical close air support at low altitudes. It's also the only fighter wielding the renowned 30mm cannon, capable of firing about 65 rounds a second. Colonel Hansen said the 30mm Gatling gun is the commanders' weapon of choice because it can be used much closer to friendly forces than bombs, and it is four times more powerful than the 20mm cannon (on other fighters).

A-10s also are undergoing modernization. The old airframe is midway through a major upgrade to a more capable A-10C by loading it with newer capabilities. It boasts the latest technology of smart weapons: GPS guided bombs, and all weather capability.

Furthermore, the sturdy airframe design enables the A-10 to operate from austere airfields and take battle damage without degrading capability.

Examples of its survivability include self-sealing fuel cells protected by foam, manual flight control systems that back up hydraulic controls, armor and a ballistic tub surrounding the cockpit.

"I've seen A-10s with very large holes in them that have survived just fine," said Colonel Hansen

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Found this cool photo...

That is a hog from the AFRES in Barksdale. There is one out on the ramp at D-M with the same nose paint.

3-D Imaging Helps A-10 Integrate Latest Weapons

(Source: US Air Force; issued June 20, 2008)

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --- The A-10C Thunderbolt II is undergoing state-of-the-art 3-D measurement here through June 20 to help the close-air support aircraft carry the latest in smart weapons technology.

The 46th Test Wing's Air Force Seek Eagle Office, Computerized Physical Fit team is collecting approximately 100,000 3-D data points on an A-10C aircraft. The A-10C being measured is on loan from the Maryland National Guard and is being used for the test under direction of the wing's 40th Flight Test Squadron.

The team is using its visibility size and shape targeting accuracy room scale, or V-STARS, photogrammetry system of triangulation to collect data on every external surface of the aircraft. These data points will be used to build a digital model of the aircraft that is representative of operational aircraft. Once complete, dimensions of the model will be accurate within 0.03 inches of the aircraft measured.

Engineering analyses on the A-10 was done with 2-D drawing and extensive ground and flight testing during the '70s, said Mark Hillman, the AFSEO lead engineer.

"Today, 3-D models are created as aircraft are being designed," Mr. Hillman said. "These 3-D models are used as the basis for many of AFSEO's engineering analyses including: computerized physical fit, computational fluid dynamics, electromagnetic interference/compatibility and store separations. This new modeling capability will help minimize store integration costs by reducing the number of ground and flight tests."

"Over the years, the A-10 has proven itself as a true asset to the warfighter and has undergone several upgrades. This is just one more step in integrating an old but viable, combat-proven machine with the most current technology available," said Paul Collins, the computerized physical fit team lead.

The V-STARS program is helping bring an aging aircraft online with the latest technological advances, making it a stronger asset to the U.S. and a deterrent to the enemy, he said.

"We did this with other aircraft in the Air Force arsenal," Mr. Collins said. "This is just the latest aircraft targeted to undergo the V-STARS measurement. Our end product is to create a digitized model to help us upgrade the aircraft similar to what we did with the B-52H Stratofortress. Many of our aircraft are still very useful work horses and all they need is to be brought online with new technology to continue to be a huge asset."

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