Army moving A-7D and MiG-21 aircraft to museum at Robins Air Force Base

The U.S. Army is relocating a few aircraft from their Aberdeen Proving Grounds facility in Maryland to the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, according to contract documents released last month.

The Army is looking for a contractor to provide aircraft relocation services to support the move. The scope of work for this project is to relocate one complete A-7D aircraft. One additional complete A-7D fuselage assembly, less main wing and horizontal stabilizers. Six complete and undamaged A-7D external fuel tanks. From the remaining A-7D aircraft remove the most serviceable components consisting of one intact A-7D canopy, one ejection seat, one heads up display, one radome, one complete set of external lights and one set of wingtip assemblies.

“These are historic aircraft and must be disassembled and moved with the purpose of reassembling the aircraft at the Museum of Aviation,” the Army said in contract documents. “All systems and components cannot be cut, torn or damaged during disassembly, transport and reassembly. All wiring, tubing, cables and attach points will be disconnected and reconnected at the reassembly location. The complete A-7D aircraft end product delivered must be completely reassembled and all systems and components reconnected and potentially fully functional. The A-7D fuselage will be delivered complete and on its landing gear. No other assembly is required. Exceptions may be considered by the end user and approved on a case by case basis. The six A-7D external fuel tanks will be delivered with storage cradles or fixtures.”

The A-7 Corsair II was a light attack bomber developed for the Navy by Ling-Temco-Vought Inc. in 1963 as a replacement for the A-4 Skyhawk. The A-7D is the Air Force version of the Corsair II. During the Vietnam conflict, the Air Force operated A-7Ds from bases in Thailand. The last combat missions for A-7s were flown by the Navy in Desert Storm in 1991.

In addition to the A-7D planes, the contractor will relocate one Russian MIG-21 aircraft and one MIG-21 crated R-29 engine from Aberdeen to the museum in Georgia. The MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.