The first set of new and improved wings for the US Air Force Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II has been delivered to Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah.
The delivery has been conducted by Boeing in partnership with Korean Aerospace Industries, as well as other suppliers.
According to Boeing press release, published on May 25, 2022, the new wings are more durable and efficient than the previous ones used on the aircraft.
A contract with a ceiling value of $999 million for production and delivery of up to 112 wing sets and spare parts for them was signed in August 2019. Boeing has already delivered 173 upgraded wing assemblies for the A-10 prior to that.
The new wings extend the flying time of vintage A-10s to 10,000 hours, adding a significant boost to the life of the aircraft whose production stopped in 1984.
The A-10 has been at the center of various controversies lately, as several reports published claim the USAF is “starving” the aircraft of upgrades in an attempt to gradually phase it out.