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 rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.