According to US Govt records on 14 May this year Brighton arms makers EDO MBM were awarded a manufacturing contract by the United States Air Force for 2,638 Electrical Connectors for the American A-10 Thunderbolt II military jet used for 'close air support' operations in Iraq.

The contract (file ref. FA8221-08-R-73182) was worth $183,713 and was marked

“Priority: C. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY URGENT REQUIREMENT CONCERNING PUBLIC EXIGENCY.”

All items were required on or before 30 June.

According to Wikipedia:

'The A-10 has been flown exclusively by the United States Air Force and its Air Reserve Components, the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and the Air National Guard (ANG). As of March 2008, 20 squadrons operate the A-10'

'On 30 April 2003, USCENTAF published ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom: By the Numbers’, a declassified report about the aerial campaign in the Iraq conflict. Sixty A-10s were deployed in Iraq; one was shot down near Baghdad International Airport by Iraqi fire late in the campaign. Of the A-10s deployed, 47 were Air National Guard Aircraft, and 12 were from the Air Force Reserve. The A-10 had a mission capable rate of 85% in the war, and fired 311,597 rounds of 30 mm ammunition.'

'Armament
Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) GAU-8/A Avenger gatling gun with 1174 rounds
Hardpoints: 8× under-wing and 3× under-fuselage pylon stations holding up to 16,000 lb (7,200 kg) and accommodating:
Mark 82, Mark 83, and Mark 84 general-purpose bombs

or
Mk 77 incendiary bombs

or
BLU-1, BLU-27/B Rockeye II, Mk20, BL-755[33] and CBU-52/58/71/87/89/97 cluster bombs or
Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (A-10C)
or
GBU-10 Paveway II, GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-16 Paveway II and GBU-24 Paveway III laser-guided bombs

or
Joint Direct Attack Munition (A-10C)[34]

or'

….etc etc




****

Notes.

Solicitation Notice

 http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:tctCZxNruyQJ:www.fbodaily.com/archive/2008/03-March/12-Mar-2008/FBO-01528280.htm+SCD-M11579&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&lr=lang_en

Award Notice

 https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=0a3d78ef79c64a80d119f316c8ad8b19&tab=core&_cview=1

Wikipedia

A-10  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-10_Thunderbolt_II