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| Warthog extended to 2028 https://warthogterritory.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10933 |
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| Author: | slowmo [ 22 Jul 2006, 14:52 ] |
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http://www.fayettevillenc.com/print?id= ... pe=article Published on Thursday, July 20, 2006 Old Warthogs to get new life By Henry Cuningham Military editor Sixteen years ago, the Air Force was about to get rid of the A-10. Now the Air Force plans to keep the Warthog for 22 more years. “The A-10 is proposed to stay in the inventory till 2028,” said Col. Warren L. Henderson, commander of the 23rd Fighter Group at Pope Air Force Base. The aircraft, which is known for flying low and slowly over battlefields in support of ground troops, will be upgraded to the A-10C configuration. The upgraded aircraft will have more computer technology and precision-guided weapons and the ability to shoot from higher altitudes in all weather. The first A-10 was deployed in 1976, according to the Air Force. Last year, Henderson was the pilot when Aircraft 697 hit the 11,000-hour mark, setting a record for the A-10. “A lot of people like to poke fun at the A-10 because it’s old and it’s slow,” Henderson said. “It doesn’t have all the fancy weapons, but there’s a lot to be said, and our customers tell us this, for a system that has staying power, can service a target over and over and over again, that has a big gun and knows how to use it. There’s just no beating that.” Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego of New York has the contract for the $300 million program to develop the Precision Engagement upgrade of the Air Force’s fleet of 356 aircraft for 21st century warfare, said Frans Jurgens, a spokesman for the contractor. The upgraded A-10 will have computer screens instead of knobs and round dials and will be able to deliver GPS-guided bombs. The upgrade program is small change compared with the billions being spent to develop the supersonic F-22A Raptor and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that will eventually replace the A-10 and F-16. “Air Force inventory is old,” Henderson said. “It’s going to continue to get older because the replacements are expensive. It’s going to take time to acquire those capabilities and bring them into the service. In the meantime, we’ve got to make sure we can still provide the support to the public that we need to. The way to do that is to extend the service life of our airframes.” The Air Force has been doing flight testing of the A-10C at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. “The first A-10C production aircraft is being rolled out by the Air Force at Hill Air Force Base in Odgen, Utah, in mid-August,” Jurgens said. The contractor will deliver hardware and software upgrade kits to be installed by the Air Force, he said. During the next two years, the Pope group will be juggling deployments to Afghanistan, the four-month aircraft upgrades and a move to Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. “In addition to the airplanes being upgraded, the pilots will have to go through an upgrade course of about a month to do academics to learn about all the new systems and simulators and flights to learn how to be able to employ them appropriately,” Henderson said. Henderson, who is 48, has been flying the A-10 since 1987. The aircraft got high marks for its performance in the first Persian Gulf War in 1991 and has been frequently deployed since then, especially to Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years. “The A-10 is always the first fighter aircraft to go on the chopping block because it’s not supermodern,” Henderson said. “It’s not superfast. It’s not stealthy. It’s not glamorous. It’s not any of the things we like to think of when we think fighter aircraft. It’s ugly, and it’s slow, and it’s a little bit old and archaic in its systems. However, every time the A-10 is called into duty, it proved its capabilities and it proves why the A-10 needs to stay in the inventory.” Military editor Henry Cuningham can be reached at cuninghamh@fayettevillenc.com or 486-3585. |
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| Author: | sgtgoose1 [ 22 Jul 2006, 18:07 ] |
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Hey IF YOU CANT GO FAST------------GO UGLY! That sums it up Goose I know now for a FACT that Truth is Stranger than Fiction and IT CAN ALWAYS BE WORST! |
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| Author: | Top Gun [ 22 Jul 2006, 20:50 ] |
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if this is the case, why did so many A-10 units get axed in the BRAC listing <img src=icon_smile_dissapprove.gif border=0 align=middle> I've love to see the A-10 stay around, but let's hope the br<b>ASS</b> doesn't dismantle every unit <img src="http://www.x-plane.org/home/topgun/sigs/A10logo.jpg" border=0> http://topgunphotography.milavia.net/index.htm |
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| Author: | Skywarriors [ 23 Jul 2006, 02:48 ] |
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<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> if this is the case, why did so many A-10 units get axed in the BRAC listing <img src=icon_smile_dissapprove.gif border=0 align=middle> <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote> Are they really cutting down in numbers too ? Although many units feel the axe, others will grow in aircraft numbers like Barksdale. With A-10's moving back to Moody and even Forth Smith will get some as well, the Hog's future doesn't look bad at all in my opinion. <img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle> |
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| Author: | Weasel_80-204 [ 23 Jul 2006, 05:28 ] |
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I really doubt that 697 hit 11,000 first. My bet is that DM did it a least a month before Pope. 941, or 278 (my old jet). They were at least at 10,500 in 2004 when we left Afghanistan and according to Dice were #1 & 2 respectivly in Airframe hours. I'm sure I can get a friend to verify. Man I hate when Pope gets all the damn credit! You might be a "Bulldog" if: You bend over and grab your ankles when you hear: "EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE!" |
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| Author: | Dice-man [ 23 Jul 2006, 09:59 ] |
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<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> They were at least at 10,500 in 2004 when we left Afghanistan and according to Dice were #1 & 2 respectivly in Airframe hours. I'm sure I can get a friend to verify. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote> I can say for sure these were the first two jets to hit 10,000 hours but, can't verify the 11,000 hours mark. Visit my A-10 website at http://www.warthogpen.com |
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| Author: | Bacon Bits [ 23 Jul 2006, 12:30 ] |
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<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>941, or 278 <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote> Given that 278 and 941 began their service lives at Woodbridge with the 81st TFW I can well believe that they have racked up some serious hourage, I remember hearing about the handful of DM Hogs that the 81st picked up in 1990......some FY76 models, and they had less hours than the newer Hogs at WR. |
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| Author: | jackb [ 23 Jul 2006, 18:13 ] |
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We have quite a few jets over 10,000 at at least one over 11,000. My jet is about 80 hours shy of 10,000. I cant wait. All my jets at Pope were 79's and had about 8,000 hours on them. At Osan my jet, 685 was a 78, the oyl one there, and it had the least amount of hours, I think around 6-7000. At Eielson, my jets is an 80, and its got more hours than most of the other ones here. Assault is a type of behavior, not a type of rifle. Edited by - jackb on Jul 23 2006 20:42 |
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