Kicked Up Hogs: The A-10A+ Program
Nov 19, 2007 16:25 UTCThe A-10C Thunderbolt (aka. Warthog, or Hog) close air support aircraft program has begun fielding aircraft for use in Iraq, where the new SADL data link and targeting pod + ROVER compatibility in particular have made a big difference in the air and on the ground. The A-10C is a deep refurbishing program that will take some time to perform all of the required conversions, however, and so the US Air National Guard & USAF Reserves are moving to field some of its key capabilities right now, via a quick A-10A+ upgrade that doesn’t involve redoing the wiring and power layout, changing the data bus, et. al.
That program was the obliquely-discussed subject of an October 2007 release from BAE Systems; after working with them, we’re able to explain the full program and its key benefits in more detail…