A-10 evolution continues with newest upgrades

Published May 2, 2008
By Tech. Sgt. Leo Brown
442nd Fighter Wing public affairs

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Pilots in the 303rd Fighter Squadron are enhancing their eyes and ears thanks to the two newest upgrades to the 442nd Fighter Wing's A-10 Thunderbolt IIs.

Outside the cockpit, the A-10 will be sporting a new antenna, which is part of an ongoing satellite communications system upgrade.

Inside the cockpit, new software will keep pilots' eyes where they should be, focused on ground targets by displaying information on the plane's heads-up display in addition to a small computer screen.

Communication via satellite

Thanks in large part to the Airmen of the 442nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron's Specialist Flight, the new antenna being added to the top of the 442nd Fighter Wing's A-10s looks, according to one maintenance troop, "like the satellite-TV antenna on an RV."

Far from turning the A-10 into a "flying Winnebago," the antenna is part of the new Beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) Airborne Radio Communications-210 (ARC-210) system, which improves pilots' conversations with ground forces, enhancing the 303rd Fighter Squadron's ability to employ lethal force against America's enemies.

With the old radios, pilots had to have a clear line of sight between the aircraft and the person with whom they were communicating.

Mountains, for instance, would wreak havoc on such transmissions, but the new radios communicate through satellites, giving pilots, in the words of Tech. Sgt. Michael Price, an avionics technician, "the ability to talk with anybody - anywhere, anytime.

"They will enhance communications between the pilot and ground troops, forward air controllers, anybody," he said. "You could be in Bagram (Afghanistan) and literally call home."

"The primary reason we're getting the sat.-comm. radios is the terrain in Afghanistan, which is our primary theater," said Col. Steve Arthur, 442nd Fighter Wing commander. "We have eight aircraft right now that have the ARC-210. It's a great radio and the feedback is all good."

Lt. Col. John Marks, assistant director of operations for the 303rd FS, said the new radios are a big improvement over the old ones.

"Especially for Afghanistan, which has huge mountains, the sat.-comm. capability lets us talk to anyone," he said. "We generally talk to all the ground agencies and, of course, the JTACS (joint terminal attack controllers) who are controlling our strikes.

"In the past, we could only talk to them on secure radios and we used 1960s technology. It used encryption and there was a time delay," he said. "It worked and it was fine, but with the new radios, you can go secure on any frequency."

"On the non-modified aircraft, there's a radio for a UHF frequency and two radios for VHF frequencies," Sergeant Price said. "These are all built into the new sat.-comm. radio. It sounds good. It's very clear."

Colonels Arthur and Marks said that the new radios help bring the A-10 up to speed with other aircraft.

"Essentially, it's a more modern radio," Colonel Marks said. "It's been around quite a while and the Navy's F-18s have used it for several years."

"The A-10 is finally catching up," Colonel Arthur said. "The aviators here absolutely love it."

Software upgrades keep pilots' heads up

In addition to radio upgrades, Airmen in the 442nd Maintenance Group recently installed new software for the A-10s' smart multi-function color displays (SMFCD), located in the cockpit. According to pilots and maintenance troops alike, the upgrade will improve "situational awareness" for pilots.

"It's like upgrading your computer," said Senior Master Sgt. Dennis Lyon, flight chief. "Every year, you get new computers and systems and, basically, we're upgrading a computer that's a couple of years old."

This upgrade, according to Sergeant Lyon, will connect the targeting pod, the integrated-flight and fire-control computer and other systems, and "send them to the SMFCD and the heads-up display. In the past, these systems were independent of each other and now they're grouped together to report information."

"(The 1.3 version of the software) changed the operating characteristics of the SMFCD and it will give the pilot more information and better functionality within the SMFCD," he said. "It'll enhance communication and improve the pilots' ability to get their bombs on target and provide cover for ground troops. That's why it's important to get this done before the next AEF."

"The 1.3 speeds up the HOTAS (hands-on-throttle-and-stick) functions, so pilots don't have to look down," Sergeant Price said. "We want them to be looking out the cockpit window instead of looking down to switch settings. The stick is the same, but we reprogrammed the computer."

"Instead of being able to see my wingman and targets on my data link, I can now see things on the heads-up display," Colonel Marks said. "I can see where my wingman is, where other data-link players are, where targets are. We can see friendly locations on the ground a couple hundred miles one way or the other. This adds a huge capability."

Colonel Marks said the wing's pilots are becoming more comfortable with the upgrades.
"We have a two-sortie upgrade program, a two-ride checkout," he said. "It takes a few sorties for guys to adjust, but that's expected."

Solid support

Sergeant Lyon said the specialist flight Airmen completed the software upgrade in the wing's 27 A-10s in four days. As with some past upgrades, the flight's troops have been navigating through unknown waters.

"This, again, is self-taught," Sergeant Lyon said. "We're going into an area we've never been in.

"We were the first unit to do this," he said. "This is not something you do every day. In the magnitude of what we did, we broke new ground in the maintenance community with this."

Sergeant Lyon stressed that the success of these upgrades must be credited not only to the Airmen of the specialist flight, but also to the troops in the armament and weapons-load shops, and the flight-line section.

"It takes all the pieces of the puzzle to bring everything together," he said. "These shops are absolutely necessary components to getting this done and they have to do their processes to get the aircraft to mission-ready status."

"The A-10 community is pretty fortunate getting access to funding that allows us to do these upgrades," Colonel Arthur said. "That funding is driven by what combatant commanders need in theater.

"The bottom line is that we're very fortunate to have an Air Force Reserve Command commander (Gen. John Bradley) who has the ability to look into the future and get us what we need," the colonel said.