the a-10 warthog is preparing for its biggest upgrade in over a decade just six years ago the
u.s air force was on the verge of culling its entire fleet of 810 thunderbolt 2s
better known as warthogs in 2014 the then usaf chief of staff general mark welsh iii said the
air force had to retire the a-10 completely if it was to make substantial cuts to its budgets and
that it required freed up funding and manpower to be channeled into the stand-up of new f-35 units
the u.s air force made the case for the f-35a lightning ii to assume the a-10s rolls emphasizing
how the warthog was no longer survivable in modern high threat environments littered with
advanced air defense systems all the while a10 supporters in congress vehemently rejected the
proposals on the grounds that it would severely impact the usaf's ability to cover this mission
and some demanded a fly-off to prove once and for all that the f-35 could adequately replace
the a-10 in this mission the u.s air force completed a project to re-wing a portion of
its a-10c fleet on july 25 2021 the project began in 2011 when boeing received a 1.1 billion dollar
contract to provide 173 sets of wings the new wings are expected to last for up to 10 000
equivalent flight hours without requiring a depot inspection and will permit the modified aircraft
to remain in service through 2030 or beyond a further project to provide 112 additional
wing sets for the remaining 810cs was funded in fiscal year 2018. the service is acquiring
the wing sets under the 810 thunderbolt advanced wing continuation kit program
new parts suppliers with modern techniques may help restore the original engine thrust of the
general electric tf-34 engines rather than the slight detune that the aircraft currently operates
with new weapons a new cockpit layout and an overhaul of tactics are some of the elements
now in the pipeline to keep the hogs tusks sharp and its community a meaningful contributor on the
front line fight this host of capability upgrades will keep the a-10 at the forefront of the u.s
air force cas mission for at least another decade and likely substantially longer the u.s air force
currently fields 281 a-10 but there have been numerous failed attempts to reduce the fleet
the u.s air force proposed fiscal year 2021 budget looks to cut three squadrons worth of jets
effectively 44 warthogs such as the resurgence of the a-10 but a new
common fleet initiative is planned to keep the type and service incredible out towards 2035.
central to the upgrades for the a-10 is the need to be survivable in a contested environment
this involves warthog pilots evading threats through the additional use
of standoff weapons from longer ranges combined with the use of updated tactics
the a-10s will field in the spring of 2021 and it's a foundational step in the modernization of
the a-10 the developmental testing of this phase is currently underway with the 40th
flight test squadron which is headquartered at eglin air force base florida suite 11 is
the first a10 ofp that will be built using agile development methodologies this will provide a more
rapid update cycle for relevant enhancements thanks for watching don't like and subscribe
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