Air Force and industry technicians installed new, reengineered wings on the 100th A-10C as part of the Enhanced Wing Assembly Program on the Ogden Air Logistics Complex line at Hill AFB, Utah, Aug 20. “The first A-10 took over a year to complete—442 days to turn it around” when the program began in 2012, Ogden ALC Commander Brig. Gen. Carl Buhler noted in a release. “Today I’m proud to announce that this jet took 172 days … that’s nine months of aircraft availability given back to our warfighters,” he added. Boeing and Ogden technicians are re-winging and structurally reinforcing a total of 173 A-10s to extend their service lives through 2040. “The new wings will allow the aircraft to fly another 10,000-12,000 flight hours,” 521st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron technician Monte Marcos said. “They are also strengthening the fuselage so it will last as many flight hours as the wings,” he added.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
