Grunts In The Sky - An A-10 Mini-Documentary

[theGinsue]

This is an amazing mini-documentary of the A-10 and it's mission in Afghanistan - with footage of an amazing misson.

The video is only about 21.5 minutes long and worth every second of it.

https://www.military.com/defensetech...ce_a_190821.nl

[Mercula]

Fuck yea. Thanks dude.

[theGinsue]

Glad you liked it brother. I thought it was pretty awesome and share worthy myself.

[BushMasterBoy]

First time I saw one of these was in England. It was 1978 and they were from Bentwaters. I was working ECM pods on F-111's and was surprised to see same ECM Pod on the A-10. There was so much concern about ground support for the Army, I had a Army Major living in the next room to me in the enlisted barracks. All the bases are closed now. The barracks has been raised as it was built in 1917.

[Gman]

I'll have to check this out. The A-10 is one of my favorite aircraft. There's still nothing like it.

ETA: I'm pretty sure I've seen this before. I've been through just about every A-10 video I can find online.

I hate how the Air Force keeps trying to kill it. The Army has helicopters for ground support, so I'd love to see the A-10 maintained by the Army before I see it replaced with something else. Every proposal so far has been inadequate for armament or loiter time.

[beast556]

Very cool, good watch. The A10 is an awesome aircraft. One of my top favorites.

[Gman]

Was interesting to see this article dated today at the same location as the video:
Boeing Wins Contract Worth Nearly $1 Billion to Replace Remaining A-10 Wings

Boeing Co. will make the wings on the remaining A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft that are slated to receive an upgrade, the Defense Department announced this week.

The company on Wednesday received an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract worth a maximum of $999 million for A-10 wing replacements.

"This contract provides for up to 112 new A-10 wing assemblies and up to 15 wing kits," the award stipulates.

Boeing, which is teaming up with Korean Aerospace Industries for the effort, said the service has ordered an initial 27 wing sets and will manage the production of up to 112 sets and spare kits.

Only 109 A-10s still need to be re-winged, and the contract will include up to three spares, according to service spokeswoman Ann Stefanek.

"Our established supply base, experience with the A-10 structures, and our in-depth knowledge of the U.S. Air Force's requirements will help us deliver high-quality wings to meet the customer's critical need," Pam Valdez, vice president of Air Force services for Boeing Global Services, said in a statement.

The wing replacement work will be performed at multiple U.S. subcontractor locations as well as one subcontractor location in South Korea; the work is scheduled to be completed in August 2030, according to the contract announcement.

The Air Force will allocate $239.6 in procurement funds from past fiscal budgets for the effort, known as the "A-10-Thunderbolt II Advanced-Wing Continuation Kit," or "ATTACK" program, DoD said.

The Air Force had initially set aside $267 million for the effort, but DoD has reevaluated that estimate, Stefanek told Military.com Wednesday.

The news comes after the recent completion of Boeing's first re-winging contract, awarded to the aerospace company in 2007.

As part of the $1.1 billion "Enhanced Wing Assembly" contract, the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, earlier this month completed work on the last A-10 slated to receive the upgrade. The project began in 2011.

The Air Force in 2018 said it had begun searching for a new company to rebuild wings for the A-10, affectionately known as the Warthog, after the service ended its arrangement with Boeing; Nevertheless, the company has received the second contract.

Officials have not committed to re-winging the entire fleet.

"We re-evaluate every year depending on how many aircraft we will need; the length of the contract goes through 2030 so it gives us options as we go forward," Stefanek said.

The service has 281 Warthogs in its inventory. Two A-10s were destroyed in a collision in 2017. One of them had received the upgrade.

The planes, which entered service in 1976 and have deployed to the Middle East, Europe and the Pacific, have played an outsized role in the air campaign that began in 2014 against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, helping provide close-air support for Iraqi and U.S. partner forces on the ground.

The A-10 has also been instrumental in air operations in Afghanistan.

[iego]

I only know the A10 Warthog from video games. Cool to see it still deployed and an action item.

-John

[OtterbatHellcat]

Thanks, T.

Cool stuff for sure.

[BPTactical]

Great watch.
Thanks T!