A 576th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron tug driver eases an A-10 Thunderbolt II, tail no. 80-0252, past obstacles and out of a hangar at Hill AFB, Utah, on June 25, 2019. The aircraft was being moved to a paint facility where it later received a new coat of paint. The aircraft was the last of 173 A-10s to receive new wings under the Enhanced Wing Assembly program to extend the flying service life of the fleet. Air Force photo by Alex R. Lloyd.
The Air Force has wrapped up its effort to rewing its A-10 fleet so the Thunderbolt can keep flying through the 2030s.
The Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill AFB, Utah, recently installed the last set of new wings on A-10 No. 80-0252.
The plan to install 173 new wings began in 2011, and all but 11 were installed at Ogden, according to a Hill release.
The effort began with a $1.1 billion contract to Boeing in 2007, but temporarily ended in 2016 in part because of cost, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mike Holmes said in early 2018. Funding returned in the fiscal 2019 budget that allowed the Air Force to finish the job.
The Air Force expects the new wings to last for the equivalent of about 10,000 flight hours without a depot inspection, according to the release.