The Air Force has awarded Boeing two contracts—together totaling $4.2 million—to support the A-10 Thunderbolt Life-Cycle Program Support contract to sustain and modernize the service’s A-10 fleet. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are all participating in the $1.6 billion TLPS. For Boeing, that work already includes manufacturing up to 242 enhanced wing assemblies under a $2 billion wing replacement program. The new work Boeing acquired provides engineering services with Southwest Research Institute for the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program and trade study analysis and operational assessment/proof of concept work with partners Raytheon and BAE Systems to update the avionics architecture. (Boeing release)
The Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is behind schedule and may significantly overrun its expected cost, which could partially explain why the service is reviving the hypersonic AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon.