More A-10 pic's!
Posted on 03/30/2005 4:01:59 PM PST by Righty_McRight
OWEGO, NY, March 30, 2005 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a $37.8 million contract to provide the U.S. Air Force with Precision Engagement production kits to modify A/OA-10 aircraft. The entire A-10 fleet will be modified over the next five years for an estimated total contract value of $168 million.
The Precision Engagement modification will enable the A-10 to use advanced precision guided weapons, including the Joint Direct Attack Munition and the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser. The modification also adds the capability for advanced targeting pods to improve pilots’ situational awareness.
“The Precision Engagement modification allows aircrews to engage targets from a higher altitude using smart weapons,” said Jeff Bantle, vice president and general manager of Multi-Mission Solutions, Lockheed Martin Systems Integration – Owego. “This not only provides A-10 pilots with greater safety, but it also gives them the capability to more swiftly and accurately eliminate threats.”
The kits include all of the components necessary for the Air Force to configure A-10 aircraft with the Precision Engagement capability. The upgrade also includes adding a Central Interface Control Unit (CICU), which provides a digital stores management system, two multifunction color displays, and new cockpit controls, and doubles the direct current generator capacity.
“These modifications significantly strengthen an aircraft our warfighters rely on for the impressive close air support it provides,” Bantle said. “We’re committed to ensuring its reliability and utility so our warfighters can achieve mission success.”
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration – Owego is the prime contractor on the Precision Engagement modification, under the direction of the A-10 program office (508th Attack Sustainment Squadron), leading a team composed of BAE Systems, Southwest Research Institute and Northrop Grumman. The production kits, a result of work by Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and Southwest Research Institute, are one component of the Precision Engagement program.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2004 sales of $35.5 billion.
Contact:
Leslie Holoweiko,
(607) 751-2598;
e-mail, leslie.holoweiko@lmco.com
Pilot with the call sign "killer chick" (I wish I knew who she was) after performing straifing runs over downtown Baghdad. -- 2003
And to think some Airforce generals wanted to ditch the A-10 some years ago.
Good think no one listened to those idiots.
I saw some of those straffing runs live on Fox...she was shoooting up buildings.
Sweet news! Thanks for the post.
Here ya go:
...Large chunks of her plane shot away, the hydraulic control system dead, Air Force Capt. Kim Campbell "KC" pushed and pulled at a backup set of manual controls, struggling to keep the anti-tank aircraft from crashing as it limped away from an ambush over Baghdad.
Landing finally in the safety of a coalition air base in southern Iraq on Monday, Campbell was greeted with applause, relief and awe. Maintenance personnel gawked, took photos, and clapped ``Capt. K.C.'' on the shoulder.
HEHHEHHEH
no matter what the fast-mover addicts try, they just cannot get rid of the Hogs.
GOOD.
This is great. We need the Thunderbolt II.
(Just bought a house on a street named "Thunderbolt", named after the first Jug, the P-47 - I think we need one of those model planes with the spinnie propellers on the street sign).
Ahhhhh Glorious overtime
Sounds like they're going to be keeping the A-10s around for at least another two or three decades.
The A-10 is just great. If they ever manage to get rid of it, they will have a multi-billion-dollar vendor shootout to see if anyone can produce an A-10 from scratch.
If you want on or off my ping list, please contact me by Freep mail not by posting to this thread.
Beautiful plane. Not in looks exactly, but in ability. I'd hate to be some dumb jihadi staring down the gattling gun of an incoming warthog! Talk about getting torn apart.
Gotta get those A-10s up to snuff to get those chinese tanks!!
I bet those Chinese tanks are difficult to move. Aren't they supposed to have a 155 mm gun? When the M1A1s were moved from Germany to Kuwait, they had to be shipped from Germany to Spain due to limitations on the weight on some bridges and inability to clear the tunnels through the Alps. The Chinese tankes are significantly larger, and Chinese infrastructure is not as good as European infrastructure. I think they'd have significant problems moving a tank around that is significantly larger than an M1A1.
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