Hogs Up'

[Herk]

Ask any "Grunt" in DESERT STORM what he wanted as aerial support and you hear "A-10".  Like it's name sake the P-47 Thunderbolt the A-10 Thunderbolt II proved to be a highly proficient ground support aircraft.  Finding a "replacement" will need more than what the F-35 is currently showing - it may get better - it took actual combat for the A-10 to really show what it could do.  It did not "go fast" or look "pretty" but it always got the job done and brought it's pilot home.

[BenB]

"Replaced by the F-35." Yeah, right! Just like the B-1 has replaced the B-52. 

Ben

[Bill L.]

For all lovers of the A-10 Thunderbolt II ....... Bill L.

By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 4, 2010 6:05:40 EST

For the A-10 Thunderbolt II, it's "Hog Up" again. That's "upgrade," for
anyone not familiar with Warthog-speak.
The Air Force's oldest — and most formidable — close-air support plane is
getting a fix to keep it flying until its new wings are ready in a couple of
years.
Airmen from the 309th Maintenance Wing's Aerospace Maintenance and
Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and Hill Air
Force Base, Utah, are installing steel straps and stronger fittings to the
Thunderbolt's wings.
"This is an interim fix to keep the A-10s flying while the new wings are
being built," Daryl Neel, the 309th AMARG center wing shop supervisor, said
in a statement..
The new wings will beef up the Warthog's structure and give it another 20
years in the air, according to Dave Roe, a structural engineer with the
309th AMARG.
"The modifications we're giving the wing will double its service life and
allow it to carry the additional load the wings are expected to carry," Mr.
Roe said.
A contract awarded in 2007 to the Boeing calls for 242 new wings to be
installed on original A-10 airframes by 2011. About 100 A-10s built in the
1980s are sturdier and don't need new wings.
The Warthog will keep flying until about 2030, when it is scheduled to be
replaced by the F-35 Lightning II, the next-generation multirole fighter.
A twin-engine jet with a range of 800 miles, the A-10 is a favorite of
ground troops because of its ability to fly low and slow to attack targets
with its 30mm cannon.
"Nothing else in our inventory can do the job the A-10 can do, especially in
close-[air] support," Roe said. "It also has a long loiter time over
friendlies or over the target if necessary."