Proof the A-10 Thunderbolt was to remain a USAF mainstay until 2040: Taxpayers spent more than $2-billion on upgrades!

16 May 2014 (13:31 UTC-07 Tango)/16 Rajab 1435/26 Ordibehesht 1393/18 Ji-Si 4712

In February 2014, USAF officials suddenly announced they wanted to kill off the venerable A-10 Thunderbolt 2 (unofficially called Warthog).  Since then many politicians, veterans, current personnel of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, and even state National Guard units (who operate the majority of A-10s) have criticized the decision as foolhardy to say the least.

U.S. Air Force weenie head bean counters claim it will save taxpayers money to get rid of the cost effective aircraft, but wait, isn’t that what they said about keeping the Tank Buster when they pushed for more than $1.1-billion USD of upgrades for the A-10, back in 2007?

Photo by AAron B. Hutchins, Pocatello Airport, September 2012.

In June 2007, Boeing was awarded a contract to build 233 new wings for the American Stuka (unAmerican Boeing then outsourced some of the work to Korean companies).  According to USAF officials back then, the upgrade would allow the A-10 to fly on until 2040, and save taxpayers about $1.3-billion in maintenance costs.

It took until February 2012 for Boeing to actually begin replacing the wings.  In September 2013, the USAF paid for another 56 wings, for a grand total of $1.2-billion (some news sources say it was $2-billion).  So why at the beginning of 2014 did the USAF decide to get rid of the A-10 after spending $1.2 to 2-billion to keep it airworthy until 2040?

But wait there’s more!  In September 2009, Boeing was paid another $4.2-million under the Thunderbolt Life-cycle Program Support (TLPS) contracts.  There are other upgrade programs being handled by Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, and other contractors.

All these upgrade programs are supposed to be ongoing at least until 2018.

Arizona Daily Star, March 2014: Retiring the Air Force’s A-10C is a mistake

OBAMA REGIME TO STEAL ALL OF IDAHO AIR NATIONAL GUARD’S AIR ASSETS!

IDAHO NATIONAL GUARD A-10C THUNDERBOLT 2