|
Just saw this today:
Air Force committed to A-10, but funding concerns remain
BY: Michael Fabey, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report*
08/18/2006
The $477 million upgrade program to make the A-10 Warthog a digital combat aircraft shows the Air Force's commitment to the plane, but funding battles could still stretch out the improvement schedule, the service's A-10 program manager said.
"The A-10 has been underappreciated from the very beginning," said U.S. Air Force Col. Jim Ratti, the aircraft system manager and commander of the 508th Aircraft Sustainment Squadron. "But this shows the Air Force wants to keep it around and viable."
The new digital upgrade will give the aircraft all-weather operational capabilities and the ability to deliver precision weapons that will cut down on the possibility of strike mistakes, Ratti said Aug. 17.
"Now we've really got some integrated controls and displays," he said.
That makes a difference when fighting insurgents in urban environments, where every bit of speed and accuracy helps, he said.
The upgrades should shelve any misconceptions that the plane is ready for retirement, Ratti said. The new upgrades should keep it flying missions through 2028.
For now, the A-10 will focus its new capabilities on close air support and combat, search and rescue missions, Ratti said.
The new capabilities are provided by precision engagement (PE) systems developed by Lockheed Martin.
The A-10 prime team received a $48 million award from the U.S. Air Force to produce 107 precision engagement modification kits for the A-10 close air support fighter, the company announced Aug. 17. Each installed kit includes the hardware and software upgrades to transform the legacy A-10A aircraft from an analog aircraft to its new digital A-10C designation with precision weapons capability.
The award represents the second production lot of PE kits following an initial award for 72 kits in March 2005. The 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, began installing the first award production kits in March 2006. Lockheed Martin is expected to deliver a total of 356 kits over five years for an estimated $168 million.
"Precision Engagement capability will change the A-10 from a clear weather, visual only attack aircraft into an all-weather, multimission precision weapons delivery platform," said Roger Il Grande, A-10 program director at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego. "Specifically, precision-guided weapons will enable the A-10 pilot to engage ground targets more swiftly, accurately and from safer distances than ever before."
Each PE kit consists of a new cockpit instrument panel with two 5x5 inch multifunction color displays, a new stick grip and right throttle to provide true hands-on-throttle and-stick fingertip control of aircraft systems and targeting pod functionality, and six pylons upgraded to "smart" weapons capability. A new computer called the Central Interface Control Unit manages the avionics and the integrated Digital Stores Management System (DSMS), which controls weapons functionality.
Flight-testing of the A-10C aircraft's DSMS and digital map is taking place at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
