$1.5B plan to fix cracked A-1o wings

[Guest Chainsaw]

ockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. are competing for an Air Force program valued at $1.5 billion to replace cracking wings on aging A-10 anti-tank aircraft.The contract, which calls for new wing sets on about 200 planes, would be awarded over 10 years. The Air Force plans to select a winner around March, Boeing spokeswoman Madonna Walsh said. Boeing and Lockheed submitted their bids on Jan. 17, Walsh and Lockheed spokesman Greg Caires both said Monday.

Both companies are looking to upgrades and modernization of aging military aircraft to keep defense revenue growing as the Pentagon tightens spending.

 

The A-10, known as the Warthog, is a low-flying ground-attack aircraft capable of maneuvering at slow speeds.

 

Lockheed already leads a program valued at more than $2 billion that it won in 1997 to upgrade A-10 aircraft and install new cockpit electronics, Caires said. Lockheed is bidding for the wing work with Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., the third-largest U.S. defense company.

 

Boeing plans to do the A-10 work at facilities in Georgia, Missouri and Utah if it wins the contract. The plane, originally made by Fairchild Republic, was first delivered in 1976.

 

The Air Force received the last A-10 in 1984.

 

Source: Bloomberg News

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