Fort Wayne Air Guard base to lose A-10 aircraft

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) As part of a major restructuring plan by the United States Air Force, the 122nd Fighter Wing located at the Air National Guard base in Fort Wayne will be losing 20 A-10 aircraft by fiscal year 2013.  The fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends on September 30.

The announcement was made Friday and details can be found on the Air Force web site.

The A-10's have been operational with the 122nd Fighter Wing since 2010 and are typically used to fight tanks on the ground.  The aircraft replaced F-16 fighter jets.

While the Fort Wayne base will be losing A-10's, the Air Force proposes to bring between nine and 11 MC-12 aircraft to the the 122nd Fighter Wing in fiscal year 2014. According to the Air Force web site, MC-12 Liberty aircraft is a manned special-mission turboprop designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.  Its civilian equivalent is the Beechcraft C-12.

At a Friday afternoon press conference, 122nd Fighter Wing Commander Colonel David Augustine said an appeal can be made to keep the A-10's at the base.

"This is the first notificatnion we've had on what the new platform is," Col. Augustine said.  "I believe the Adjutant General for the state of Indiana can enter a dialogue and cetainly he will with senior officials to see about the decision of the MC-12 and whether there is the opportunity to keep the A-10 here."

Colonel Augustine said he's not sure how the changes will affect staffing at the base.  He expects to know more next week, however Colonel Augustine did say many of the airmen at the base can be retrained to handle the new aircraft.

Augustine expects the A-10's be start being removed from the base in the fall of 2012 and the first MC-12's are expected to arrive in October of 2013.

The announcement brings an end to a long history of having fighter planes stationed at the Fort Wayne base.  The first fighters to be flown out of what was then called Baer Field were P-51 Mustangs in 1947.  The 122nd Fighter Wing was officially commissioned in 1951.   Over the years, various aircraft including the F-80, F-84, F-100, F-4C, F-4E and F-16 were based in Fort Wayne.

The restructuring is part of the Defense Department's initiative to develop a plan that transitions from an emphasis on current strategies to one that reflects the changing world situation.  The restructuring is also intended to save money.  The Air Force budget request for fiscal year 2013 would result in savings of $8.7 billion, accomplished in large part by the retiring hundreds of aircraft.

On Friday afternoon, Third District Congressman Marlin Stutzman indicating he would work to ensure the 122nd Fighter Wing continues to fly missions out of Fort Wayne.

On Wednesday officials will talk about the process to possibly reverse this and what this may mean for jobs on the base.