House panel adds more money to rewing A-10s, mainstay of Davis-Monthan

A key House committee has backed millions of dollars in new funding to extend the lives of more A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jets — a mainstay of operations at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base — and to buy more Tomahawk cruise missiles made by Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems.

The House Armed Services Committee on Thursday passed its version of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, a policy document that generally guides the appropriations process. The Senate Armed Services Committee is to take up the defense act starting May 23.

According to Arizona Rep. Martha McSally, R-Tucson, a former A-10 combat pilot and armed services panel member, the committee approved $163 million for A-10 enhancements, including $65 million more than the Pentagon’s request, for a wing-replacement program meant to keep the venerable “Warthog” flying until 2030.

After turning back attempts to retire the entire A-10 fleet over several years, McSally and other A-10 supporters last year won new funding to restart a rewinging program to extend the life of about 100 of the 280 A-10s in active inventory.

In March, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told Congress the A-10 will remain flying through at least 2030.

But the Air Force has set up a long process to award a new contract to start wing production, since original rewinging contractor Boeing bowed out.

And an Air Force official in April indicated that some A-10s would have to be grounded as soon as this fiscal year because they will have reached their maximum flying hours before replacement wingsets are available.

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The legislation also directs the Air Force to consider multiyear funding “to get the job done cheaper, quicker, and more efficiently,” McSally’s office said.

The committee also added $216 million to procure 198 Tomahawk missiles for the Navy, which had requested no new Tomahawks.

A few years ago, the Navy was looking to halt Tomahawk production to save money as it sat on an inventory of some 4,000 Tomahawks and looked toward developing a cruise missile.

But that plan was turned back by Congress and production continued at a minimum sustaining rate, as Raytheon took on a multi-year contract to recertify and upgrade the Navy’s existing Tomahawks to extend their service lives by 15 years.

The company also is looking to compete for the Navy’s next-generation land-attack missile.

Among other items of interest in Southern Arizona, the House committee’s version of the NDAA also:

• Backs the administration’s full funding request of $108 million to adapt the electronic warfare capabilities of the EC-130 Compass Call aircraft — now based solely at D-M — to a new aircraft platform and directs the Pentagon to accelerate the program.
• Supports $15 million for a new Aerospace Ground Equipment facility at D-M.
• Allocates $58.9 million for increased testing resources for ranges at the Yuma Proving Ground and the Electronic Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca, including procurement of advanced-threat radar .
• Calls for $128 million for Global Hawk surveillance-drone modifications, affecting more than 342 Arizona suppliers and supporting 220 jobs in Sierra Vista.