Air National Guard officials have just received the first upgraded A-10s—now designated A-10C—but already are raving about the enhancements. ANG Lt. Col. Kevin Campbell, A-10C test pilot and program manager, told reporters Monday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, “It’s now a digitized jet, which gives us the infrastructure to accommodate growth.” The Maryland’s ANG’s 175th Fighter Wing, which is the first unit to own the revamped hogs, has received six A-10Cs and expects two more next month. So far, USAF has trained more than 22 active, Guard, and Reserve pilots in the upgraded Warthog. (Read more about the enhancements in “Long Live the A-10.”)
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…