Warbird Information Exchange

Team Macon launches A-10 wing assembly

More than 500 members of Team Macon were joined on Monday by Boeing leaders, nearly 30 state and local officials and Macon-area business executives, a member of Congress and U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense customers to celebrate the beginning of assembly for the A-10 Thunderbolt replacement-wing sets. The events included hands-on demonstrations of Boeing’s A-10 Wing Replacement Program’s manufacturing equipment for Boeing leaders and local officials.

Some 30 months after the Air Force awarded Boeing the contract -- worth up to $2 billion to provide as many as 242 A-10 replacement-wing sets through 2018 -- Boeing is beginning assembly of the wing sets.

"This celebration is all about promises made, promises kept," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "Back in 2007 the team put together a proposal -- working closely with the United States Air Force customer -- and presented a bold plan, pulling in some world-class suppliers, and offered a new way to do things here at Macon. From that first meeting, the A-10 team has strived to keep the program on schedule and on cost. Back in the 2007 we said assembly of the wings would start in early 2010. Here we are, Jan. 18, 2010, on time and on target."

Members of the A-10 Wing Replacement Program team have spent the past 30 months designing and engineering the new wings, and working with suppliers to prepare for production. Once the wings are assembled in Macon, Boeing will deliver the replacement wing sets to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in four parts: three wing sections and an installation kit. Air Force personnel will install the wings. The first wing set is scheduled to be delivered in September. Up to 50 wing sets a year will be delivered at peak production.

The A-10 Thunderbolt, also known as the Warthog, is a twin-engine jet aircraft designed for close-air support of ground forces. More than 350 aircraft are currently in the U.S. fleet participating in both Iraq and Afghanistan operations.

Air Force Col. Howard Davis, commander, 538th Aircraft Sustainment Group, 508th Aerospace Sustainment Wing, Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, praised the engineering progress that Boeing and the Air Force have made since the beginning of the A-10 Wing Replacement Program.

He said that the performance record of Team Macon’s work on the C-17 program has inspired confidence that the A-10 wings delivered will be a high-quality product that will be delivered on time.

"The Air Force is excited about the technical know-how and quality that Boeing Macon brings to the A-10 program," Davis said. "As of Jan. 13, Boeing Macon has delivered 218 very high-quality C-17 major sub-assemblies to the Air Force, so the A-10 program is looking forward to capitalizing on the experience of the Boeing Middle Georgia workforce.

U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, whose district encompasses Boeing Macon, said the employees of Team Macon are directly responsible for the success of the site, and that he expects the performance record on the A-10 Wing Replacement Program will be unmatched.

"The folks who work here explain why this facility has been successful in competing for jobs. The leadership team, yes, is very important, but it’s the actual folks who are out there doing the work that explains why we’ve been competitive and why we’ve been able to bring new business-like this A-10," Marshall said.