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Now that it's out in the public domain, any one here conversant in the program?

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,91385,00.html

Army, Air Force Eye Upgraded Warthogs
InsideDefense.com NewsStand | Carlo Munoz | March 18, 2006

The planned integration of an enhanced communications system into the venerable A-10 aircraft could pave the way for the platform’s introduction into a cutting-edge combat package being developed by the Air Force and Army, a senior program official says.

Plans to put the airborne Enhanced Position Locating Reporting System (ELPRS) onto a number of A-10s could allow the aircraft to be folded into the Joint Mission Capability Package (JMCP) concept, said Air National Guard Col. Louis Durkac, assistant director of requirements at Air Combat Command.

The concept is designed as a “capabilities-based force package composed of fielded [weapon] systems with interoperable information network equipment,” an air service official told Inside the Air Force last summer. The original concept formulated in late July 2005, would link a number of the Air Force F-16C+ fighter squadrons with an Army Stryker brigade combat team (SBCT), forming a single joint force package (ITAF, July 8, 2005, p1).

However, Durcak told ITAF in March that once sufficient numbers of the A-10 are fielded with the integral communications data link, connecting combat aircraft with their Stryker counterparts, the aircraft could result in a new Warthog-based JMCP spiral.

“We will be engaged with the A-10 operational test community from the beginning, but they will be busy with the modernization effort for the near term,” Durcak noted in a e-mail to ITAF.

Though an A-10 component is still years away, Durcak was adamant the Warthog’s addition into the JMCP program could serve as a template for the introduction of other platforms that might be fitted with the ELPRS system.

“You can even add ELPRS equipped armor to the mix, so you [could] potentially have an Abrahms, Bradley, Stryker, F-16C+ [and] A-10 JMCP,” Durcak wrote.

Last week, ITAF reported that JMCP coordinators were close to performing operational tests of the ELPRS on Army Stryker vehicles optimized for use by the service’s Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) units.

While modernization efforts on the A-10 have opened the door for eventually attaching the Warthog onto a JMCP team, motivation for the move was based on fiscal reality as much as innovation.

F-16C+ fleet reductions -- which will reduce aircraft numbers by as much as 40 percent -- as a result of decisions the Base Realignment and Closure Commission forced onto JMCP developers to seek alternative platforms to integrate into the fledgling air-ground combat package.

“BRAC it the F-16C+ fleet pretty hard,” Durkac said. “Luckily, the Air Force has widely chosen to outfit the A-10 with the same EPLRS data link radio that the F-16C+ and Stryker carry.”

“The [Pennsylvania] National Guard is to receive the Stryker in the next year,” Durkac wrote. “And the PA Air National Guard A-10’s would have been ideally situated to pair with them.”

Air Force budget officials requested $10.7 million to finance restoration efforts on retired A-10 aircraft, to replace those lost in combat as part of the Pentagon’s supplemental funding request for fiscal year 2006 (ITAF, Feb 24, p6).

Additionally, portions of the requested funding would pay for “30 aircraft-to-aircraft, aircraft-to-ground, ground-to-aircraft data links,” according to draft versions of the FY-06 supplemental.

However, the JMCP chief was quick to point out the possibilities of the A-10’s inclusion into the joint combat package program would not diminish the role of the F-16C+ role with the Stryker teams, adding the Falcon model has been fielded with the ELPRS system since 2000.

“We envision all possible combinations, based on the requirements of the situation. A JMCP with all three systems adds loiter time, air defense, a larger weapons load and more flexibility,” Durcak noted. “The A-10 adds more interoperability into the mix -- it’s not a replacement for the F-16C+.”

Durcak added the Warthog’s reputation as the standard bearer for air-to-ground support missions, made it a “natural fit” with the effort’s specialized Stryker units.

“The A-10 is the classic close air support platform, [it] can operate from unimproved airfields closer to the ground forces,” he said --“but there are fewer of them and they are not ready.”

The move to fold the A-10 into the JMCP program and possibly extend the teams’ overall capabilities in the field, was all part of the program’s overall focus.

“The JMCP is an operational laboratory,” Durcak wrote. “ It will demonstrate the capabilities available to joint forces commander of fully interoperable air and ground systems.”

Sound Off...What do you think? Join the discussion.


Copyright 2006 InsideDefense.com NewsStand. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.


The Second Amendment: America's original homeland security.
Ya just can’t take life too seriously, because you aren’t going to get out of it alive anyway.

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

I have some pieces of the puzzle 30MM but not the whole picture. It's interesting that the topic of "restoration" of retired A-10s has once again raised its head. I can tell you the ROM (Rough Order Magnitude) I submitted 2 years ago to pull 30 Hogs from non-volatile storage was a lot more than 10.7 Million so I'm not sure what they hope to achive with that amount of money.

OC

Some days it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints

30mm, when I was with the program an "ELPRS system" was being looked at for the A-10 but, it was very much unsure which system the A-10 would get, IE LINK-16/SADEL ect. ect.

There is more to the story but nothing I can post here.

Ugly But Well Hung

Just ran across it and thought I'd toss it out here. Seems like a pretty obvious program, given the ol' girls' primary mission. And another indication that this is one "multi-mission" platform whose primary mission is still just that...primary.

The Second Amendment: America's original homeland security.
Ya just can’t take life too seriously, because you aren’t going to get out of it alive anyway.

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

I'll second Dice. EPLRS is cool for its small part. Reagurdless of what system winns the race the A-10 will need to join the network as that article was alluding to. As everyone here has pictures of the Suite III cokpit take a look at the switches at the bottom of the AHCP...<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

Just dumping this in. I remeber working the first attempt at an integration concept. Situational Awarness Data Link(SADL). The idea used was brilliant, this project is totally needed!!! However, I worked with Forest on this but the items used at the time were not really set up for the Old Pig and it created tons of maintenance headaches.
The future concepts that are probably in work hopefully will be a little more user friendly not only for the stick jockeys and also for the guys pounding the line. But that is just my 2 cents.

So, if they find enough uses for low and slow, do you think they'll try for a new plane?

Ignorance may be bliss, but it sure ain't fun!

_________________
Evil is evil, no matter how small.

They better never try to find a new bird!!!! I still got 6 more years before retirement and want to continue working the "Dirty Pig" for at least that long. However a more reliable way to bring this A/C along in the communication line with the rest of it's flying brothers and a more accurate communication link with all the ground FAC's is a must!!

I'm sure that they could make something better than the hawg. It would certainly be a good while before they'd start production(let alone testing<img src=newicons/tard.gif border=0 align=middle>), but with the flight hours getting up there, we'd at least need new airframes, and I don't think the A-10 will be going back into production.

Ignorance may be bliss, but it sure ain't fun!

_________________
Evil is evil, no matter how small.

30MM, check your email.

OC

Some days it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints

<img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>

The Second Amendment: America's original homeland security.
Ya just can’t take life too seriously, because you aren’t going to get out of it alive anyway.

_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson