EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- An A/OA-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the 355th Fighter Squadron fires a 30mm GAU-8 Avenger seven-barrel Gatling gun at a rate of 3,900 rounds a minute May 29 over the Pacific Alaska Range Complex. The 355th FS's primary missions include air strike control, close air support, target interdiction, joint air attack team, combat escort, and combat search and rescue. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder)
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- Two O/A-10 Thunderbolt 2's from the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Wing, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska sit on the flightline here awaiting training missions on 7 Apr. On the nose of the O/A-10 is a 30mm GAU-8 Avenger seven-barrel Gatling gun which is used to pierce heavy armor. The 355th Fighter Squadron’s primary missions include air strike control, close air support, target interdiction, joint air attack team, combat escort, and combat search and rescue. The squadron also supplies several Army battalions with air liaison officers who deploy, train and operate with their assigned ground force.
(U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang)
ALEXANDRIA, La. -- An A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft fires its 30mm GAU-8A seven barrel gatling gun on targets at Clairborne Bombing and Gunnery Range in support of Hawgsmoke 2004, a biannual A-10 bombing and tactical gunnery competition. Severe weather canceled the competition April 30. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Conception)
An A-10 Thunderbolt II goes through phase maintenance March 13 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Phase maintenance is an overhaul of the entire aircraft which ensures it is ready for safe flight. A-10 pilots use a 30mm GAU-8/A 7-barrel Gatling gun as their primary weapon for disabling enemy ground targets. The gun can fire 3,900 rounds per minute. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt Joshua Strang)
Andrew Selph, 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, guides Capt. Jesse McCulloch as he taxis Aircraft 80-0172 onto the Hill AFB runway. Captain McCulloch flew the upgraded A-10C top Moody AFB, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo by Bill Orndorff)
An A-10 Thunderbolt II from the 354th Fighter Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB Tucson AZ practices attack maneuvers at Berry Goldwater Range here in Arizona. Friday February 15th 2007. Friends and families of the Airman were invited to come see the 354th FS practice using live munitions during a red carpet family day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jesse Shipps)
A newly modified A-10C Thunderbolt II taxis in during the roll-out ceremony Nov. 29 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. The A-10 has been modified with precision engagement technology to create an improved A-10C. The enhancements include full integration of sensors, multi-functional color displays and a new hands-on-throttle-and-stick interface. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Alesia Goosic)
by Tech. Sgt. Russell Wicke
Air Combat Command Public Affairs
5/9/2008 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) -- New wings are the answer to Air Force concerns on the aging A-10 Thunderbolt II, an airframe flying since 1975.
The Air Force 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, 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 - 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 are also 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," added Colonel Hansen.
