The US Air Force plans to contract out system-integration work for the Fairchild A-10, which is to be used as a close-air-support/forward-air-control aircraft until at least 2018.
A draft request for proposal has already been issued for a prime contractor, and a final document is expected to be issued in May. Industry sources say that contractors will then have two months to submit their bids. A source-selection decision is due in March 1998.
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are all expected to bid for the contract, which could be worth $500 million over the life of the project.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II, 500 of which are operated by the Air Combat Command, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, was originally built by Fairchild in the early 1980s. It became the responsibility of Grumman (now Northrop Grumman) from 1987.
In 1991, the USAF awarded Northrop Grumman a contract for cockpit modifications to the A-10 to provide improved night-vision capabilities. About 250 aircraft have so far been modified by company field teams.
The winner will probably build kits which will be installed in the field by either company or USAF personnel. Future upgrades could include an enhanced global-positioning/inertial-navigation system and a common missile-warning system.
Source: Flight International