Lockheed Martin has received three contracts totaling $7.7 million from the U.S. Air Force for the continued modernization and sustainment of the A-10 close air support fighter jet.
The contracts address the following content:
- A trade study to look for a new, more cost-efficient fuel system tester aimed at increasing overall maintenance effectiveness;
- Integration of the Fuel Quantity Intermediate Device to help pilots more effectively manage onboard fuel reserves that will maximize time on station during training and combat operations;
- Support of the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program to support safe flight operations, ensuring structural integrity of the A-10 fleet through the end of its service life.
“These three contracts continue our commitment to the A-10’s long-term sustainment,” said Roger Il Grande, A-10 program director at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY. “We are proud of our 12-year history in the modernization and sustainment of the A-10, where we continue to apply the knowledge we’ve acquired on the program to provide the Air Force with the most up-to-date and fully capable aircraft possible.”
The three task orders are part of the Thunderbolt Lifecycle Program Support (TLPS), an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract that allows the U.S. Air Force to authorize up to $1.6 billion of aircraft support activity during an initial four-year order period followed by three two-year optional contract periods. Lockheed Martin was named as one of three associate prime contractors for TLPS in June 2009.
TLPS is the follow-on to the A-10 Prime Contract competitively awarded to Lockheed Martin in 1997. Much of the work to upgrade the aircraft to A-10C configuration with modern avionics, situational awareness and precision weapons capabilities was performed under a modification contract called Precision Engagement. Lockheed Martin will remain under contract to complete efforts that are underway, including work to provide Precision Engagement modification kits through 2011.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force to provide close air support (CAS) of ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles, and other ground targets with a limited air interdiction capability. It is the first U.S. Air Force aircraft designed exclusively for close air support.
