Boeing wins contract to keep the A-10 flying

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 August 2019.

The company on Aug. 21, 2019, 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.

Three A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft from the 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons fly in formation during a flight training session.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Benjamin Wiseman)

"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 9.6 million in procurement funds from past fiscal budgets for the effort, known as the "A-10-Thunderbolt II Advanced-Wing Continuation Kit," or "ATTACK" program, the DoD said.

The Air Force had initially set aside 7 million for the effort, but the DoD has re-evaluated that estimate, Stefanek told Military.com on Aug. 21, 2019.

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

An A-10 Thunderbolt II, assigned to the 74th Fighter Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, GA, returns to mission after receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker, 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, over the skies of Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, May 8, 2011.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. William Greer)

As part of the id="listicle-2639994851".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.

This article originally appeared on Military.com. Follow @militarydotcom on Twitter.