A-10 modernization program gets help from Northrop Grumman HERNDON, Va., Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Task orders worth nearly $24 million have been given to Northrop Grumman by the U.S. Air Force to help keep A-10 Thunderbolts flying until 2028 and beyond. The two task orders to Northrop were issued under the A-10 Thunderbolt life cycle program support contract, which is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity vehicle. Under the four-year aircraft structural integrity program Modernization V deal, Northrop Grumman will perform tasks such as damage tolerance analysis, materials testing, probabilistic and risk analysis, and stress and thermal analysis. "Northrop Grumman is proud to continue to supporting the Air Force's premier ground-attack aircraft," said John Parker, director of Northrop Grumman's global logistics and modernization business unit. Our focus is to always provide our customer with the highest level of engineering services possible to ensure superior program performance. We look forward to continuing our work with the Air Force and the A-10 Thunderbolt. Northrop said its team for the task orders includes the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, the University of Dayton Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio, Borsight Inc. of Ogden, Utah, and Prime Machine Inc. of Salt Lake City.