the major tooling was intentionally destroyed years ago... 
Posted on 10/28/2016 11:49:34 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
The depot line for the A-10 Thunderbolt is cranking back up as part of an effort to keep the Cold War-era aircraft flying “indefinitely,” a general said.
Depot maintenance for the popular close-air-support aircraft, popularly known as the Warthog, has been “fully reopened,” Air Force Materiel Command chief Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski told Aviation Week on Monday.
“They have re-geared up, we’ve turned on the depot line, we’re building it back up in capacity and supply chain,” Pawlikowski said. “Our command, anyway, is approaching this as another airplane that we are sustaining indefinitely.”
Pawlikowski also told the magazine that Air Force maintainers are gearing up to replace the Warthog’s wings, dipping into a $2 billion Boeing contract originally awarded in 2007, according to Popular Mechanics. The contract was intended to upgrade the A-10 when the plan was to keep the aircraft flying until 2028.
Like any decades-old aircraft, the A-10 has experienced corrosion, which is to be expected, Pawlikowski said. The majority of the maintenance work for the 283-aircraft fleet is conducted at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at defensetech.org ...
No drone can or will attain the capabilities and situational awareness of a warthog. And as for it being old and needing replacement, that comment shows you have a fundamental misunderstanding of infantry and of aircraft maintenance.
Finally - a good decision on this great war plane.
It has a place in war no other plane and no set of tactics will ever fill, and is desperately needed for ground action. Indeed - we need it forever........
And A-10 pilots love it!
Because America's enemy's are everywhere....even in congress.....
They used to train over my area in north-central WV. You'd hear a loud BOOM with a receding roar as they followed ground contours away. Used to startle the hell out of me when they would first clear the ridge. lol
I talked one of my young employees (who was going nowhere fast) into joining the Corps 2000.
He became a GRUNT (just like his old boss was in 68), when he got back stateside in 2004 he stopped by to see me.
During our conversation CAS came up, he told me anytime a “HOG DRIVER wanted a drink all they had to do was visit a Marine Corps bar, if they wanted to have their ass kissed all they had to do was mark the spot”.
That settled the question of the value of the A-10 for me,
I know the value of close air support from personal experience.
The kid went LIFER, who knew.
The A-10 is a solid CAS platform, the F-35 not so much. The conflicts we have been in the last few decades indicate that an A-10 type platform provides much greater value to the taxpayer.
No, the reason that the Air Force changed their position and decided to keep the A-10 is that they knew that killing it would put the Key West Accords at risk. The Army was going to push for its own close air support - either the A-10 or drones - if the AF couldn’t supply it. And the Air Force wasn’t ready for that can of worms to be opened.
JSF isn’t a fitting replacement
Warthog is a nickname. Official name is Thunderbolt II. The first Thunderbolt was a P-47.
Some folks get downright testy. I was just joshing and took some heat.
“Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end”
the major tooling was intentionally destroyed years ago...
Good news....
At last, the USAF acknowledging that Warthogs are good for the survival of Army grunts on the battlefield.
Creating the Air Farce was a major mistake.
Good! It is the only purpose-built CAS aircraft.
Oh wait, that would be logical and make sense.
Never mind...
100%... iirc in this case it was the US Gov(prolly USAF) that demanded their destruction
The Marines obviously have an affinity for "extreme" things like dedicated young men and Warthogs!
The USAF hates ANY other service having aircraft. After WW II the USAF tried hard to get all Navy aircraft and aircraft carriers scrapped. Only the Revolt of the Admirals stopped it from happening.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.