Arkansas Air Guard Innovation Benefits A-10C Fleet

: Members of the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing at Fort Smith have developed two fixes for their A-10C ground-attack aircraft that have already reaped big savings for the entire Air Force. Airmen of the wing’s avionics intermediate station have started repairing throttle grips and up-front controllers for their A-10s in-house, instead of waiting for the parts to come from the Air Force’s depots. Waiting for the depot to deliver parts can take weeks and sometimes months. The airmen have also begun fixing these devices for A-10 units across the Air Force. Already this work has saved nearly $1.3 million, and has improved the A-10C’s mission-capable rates. “The A-10 is virtually useless without the throttle grip, so this has made a huge impact in the A-10 community,” said Col. Mark Berry, 188th Maintenance Group commander. (Fort Smith report by Capt. Heath Allen)