The technicians at the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah, have completed a precision engagement modification of an A-10 Warthog 14 days early, even as development and design of the mod are still ongoing. Greg Hoffman, director of the ALC’s 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, said in a Hill release, “The program is being pushed on a fast track” to meet warfighting needs. He explained: “You start to do the modifications as you go and you don’t have time to sit there and flow out how to best lay it out, so you get a couple of airplanes under your belt and then make changes as you to. It’s part of continuous process improvement.” Hoffman complimented prime contractor Lockheed Martin for “rising to meet every challenge” in providing components. His unit expects to complete PE mods for 70 A-10s this year.
The Air Force needs a high-end aircraft that can operate in contested environments that will work with the service’s new Collaborative Combat Aircraft semi-autonomous drones and other less pricey platforms, the service's officer said March 18. “Instead of going all high-end and then breaking the bank and not being able…