Pennsylvania federal and state lawmakers have requested a delay in the shift of the A-10 Warthog attack aircraft of the Air National Guard’s 111th Fighter Wing at Willow Grove, reports the Associated Press (via Examiner). According to BRAC 2005, the unit is to divest itself of its Hogs and planned to begin the process this spring. The unit ostensibly made its last deployment with the A-10s last fall. The state has been working to turn the base into a new joint facility for homeland security and emergency preparedness operations, however now, AP reports, they are taking a fresh run at the Air Force to find a mission for the 111th FW.
It is critical that the Air Force move forward on the replacement for its E-4B “Doomsday” aircraft to keep the capability “viable” into the next decade and beyond, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told lawmakers May 8.