The Air Force this year will begin operational fielding of the precision engagement modification for its fleet of A-10 close air support aircraft. The Air Force’s two top leaders said at a Wednesday House Armed Services Committee meeting that the modification, which incorporates an advanced targeting pod and data links, will “greatly enhance” a pilot’s situational awareness and targeting ability. The service also is continuing a service life upgrade to double the flight-hour life of the A-10 and plans to pursue system design and demonstration for an A-10 propulsion upgrade. They said the engine mod would provide a 30 percent boost in thrust to offset problems the A-10s have faced in operating at some expeditionary fields at high elevations and high temperatures.
DARPA Changing Directors Again in Third Recent Shuffle
Jan. 21, 2021
The Biden administration is reportedly tapping Stefanie Tompkins to run the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, spurring the third leadership change at the secretive Pentagon organization since January 2020. Defense One first reported Tompkins’s "pre-decisional" appointment to the post on Jan. 19. The White House did not respond to a…