Connecticut Air National Guardsmen with the 103rd Maintenance Squadron at Bradley ANG Base completed overhauling the 100th A-10 TF-34 turbofan engine since the centralized repair facility began operations there in May 2007. They reached the milestone in mid October, announced unit officials on Nov. 23. “It took two and a half years to complete the first 50 engines, but only 17 months to complete the second 50,” said CMSgt. Gerardo Apruzzese, TF-34 CRF aerospace propulsion shop chief. He added, “This achievement not only validates the consistent solid performance by CRF personnel . . . but also the positive impact training, experience, and process improvement have had on the timeline of each engine overhauled.” The CRF, now in a new state-of-the-art building, performs immediate-level maintenance on TF-34s for active duty and Air Guard A-10 units. It currently overhauls the engines at a rate of 3.4 per month.
A new Air Force plan for how many fighters it needs in the next decade marks a sharp upturn from what it thought it needed just seven years ago. But analysts worry that the aspirational plan now in Congress' hands doesn’t make a tight enough connection to national strategy.
