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News | May 5, 2023

AFCENT commander visits ADAB, preps 75 EFS to receive munitions upgrade

By Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) Public Affairs Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) Public Affairs

On May 3, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, 9th Air Force (Air Forces Central) commander, conducted an immersion with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates.

Grynkewich met with Airmen and Marines from across the base to discuss regional threats, watch operations unfold at the tactical level and enhance his understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing 380th AEW members. 

Grynkewich also had the opportunity to tour the beddown location of the A-10 Thunderbolt IIs that recently arrived in theater and engage with 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron pilots and maintainers.

“I look forward to seeing how our A-10 experts adjust their tactics and operations to employ this capability,” said Grynkewich. “Deployments like this provide valuable experience to our pilots, maintainers and weapons teams.  It’s experience like this they’ll need in the future as they transition to new platforms capable of flying in all operational environments. In the meantime, we have a responsibility to the taxpayer, while the A-10 is still flying, to wring from it every possible ounce of combat capability. The 75th EFS is well on the way to showing us how that can be done here in USCENTCOM.”

As the service modernizes its fighter fleet, the first of 21 A-10s in the Air Force’s fleet arrived at the Boneyard last month.

“With the 380th AEW team preparing the A-10 to carry small diameter bombs in combat, we are eager to leverage the capability this brings to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility,” added Grynkewich.

The A-10’s ability to carry SDBs will increase the platform’s stand-off range; whereas previous munitions could be employed only within ranges in single-digit nautical miles, SDBs can travel dozens prior to detonation.