Boeing to upgrade avionics to improve maintainability of A-10 Warthog close-air-support jet

ST. LOUIS, 7 Sept. 2011.Military avionics designers from the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) Boeing Defense, Space & Security segment in St. Louis will upgrade the digital video audio data recorder (DVADR) in the U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II close-air-support attack jet to enhance the maintainability of the A-10's avionics suite.Boeing experts, working under terms of a $2.9 million Air Force contract, will modify the A-10's DVADR avionics as a near-term solution to supportability issues with one of the system's major subcomponents, Boeing officials say.The A-10, in addition to Thunderbolt II, goes by many names, the most notable of which are the Warthog, the Mud Fighter, and the Infantryman's Friend. The twin-engine jet is designed especially for close-air support. Its engines are mounted high on the airframe to shield them from heat-seeking missiles, and the pilot sits in a metal-reinforced cockpit to protect him from ground fire.

The aircraft's most fearsome weapon is its seven-barrel 30 mm rotating cannon, mounted in the nose of the aircraft, which is capable of destroying armored vehicles and other ground targets. The aircraft was introduced in 1976. The twin-engine, single-seat aircraft provides close-air support to ground forces and employs a wide variety of conventional munitions against ground targets.