Boeing announced Monday that it has started work on the first A-10 replacement wing set at its production facility in Macon, Ga. USAF has contracted for some 242 wing sets to replace the wings on so-called thin-skinned A-10 Warthogs. Boeing expects to deliver the first wing set in September, working up to 50 wing sets per year through 2018. Meanwhile, as an interim fix to ensure safety of flight with the thin-skinned A-10s, Air Force technicians are adding steel straps and stronger fittings to some of the aircraft. Boeing executive Dennis Mullenburg called news of the start of the first wing-set assembly “a phenomenal accomplishment for this Boeing Macon team.” Boeing will deliver the sets in four parts—three wing sections and an installation kit—to Hill AFB, Utah, where Ogden Air Logistics Center technicians will install the wings.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.