Echoing comments from Air Combat Command officials from the August declaration of the A-10C initial operational capability, John Sams, Boeing’s vice president for Air Force programs, said that the company’s $2 billion contract award in June for 242 wing sets for the Warthog fleet extends the life of the aircraft for “at least 20 years”—putting its service well into the late 2020s. A preliminary design review for the upgrade is set for next spring with a critical design review in January 2009.
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.