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.
The Pentagon agency charged with building and operating U.S. spy satellites recently declassified some details about a Cold War-era surveillance program called Jumpseat—a revelation it says sheds light on the importance of satellite imaging technology and how it has advanced in the decades since.
