Boeing announced Monday that it has started work on the first A-10 replacement wing set at its production facility in Macon, Ga. USAF has contracted for some 242 wing sets to replace the wings on so-called thin-skinned A-10 Warthogs. Boeing expects to deliver the first wing set in September, working up to 50 wing sets per year through 2018. Meanwhile, as an interim fix to ensure safety of flight with the thin-skinned A-10s, Air Force technicians are adding steel straps and stronger fittings to some of the aircraft. Boeing executive Dennis Mullenburg called news of the start of the first wing-set assembly “a phenomenal accomplishment for this Boeing Macon team.” Boeing will deliver the sets in four parts—three wing sections and an installation kit—to Hill AFB, Utah, where Ogden Air Logistics Center technicians will install the wings.
There is a new entrant in the highly competitive field of collaborative combat aircraft—semi-autonomous drones meant to fly alongside manned combat aircraft. Northrop Grumman unveiled its new Project Talon aircraft to a small group of reporters at the facilities of its subsidiary Scaled Composites.
