What Will They Finally Do With The A-10?
BY Herschel Smith
1 week, 4 days ago
It’s the most aesthetically pleasing aircraft ever fielded in my opinion, and certainly the most effective CAS airframe ever built.
The U.S. Air Force has now ended the training of new A-10C Thunderbolt II pilots, in another step towards the retirement of the aircraft. In fact, on Apr. 3, 2026, the 357th Fighter Squadron graduated the last class of A-10 student pilots at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
So they’re ending the program because the AF wants sexy jets to fly. Or maybe not.
The US Air Force is extending the service life of the decades-old A-10 “Warthog” until at least 2030, again pushing back the attack aircraft’s retirement following heavy combat use against Iran.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink shared the news in a social media post on Monday. He said the decision “preserves combat power as the Defense Industrial Base works to increase combat aircraft production.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in response: “Long live the Warthog.”
Who knows, but it doesn’t seem like they have their ducks in a row.
I can tell you this much. When my son was in Fallujah he was saved more times than he could count by A-10s. They weren’t allowed to do gun-runs into Fallujah, but in their operations near the Euphrates they were heavily used. He told me that nothing strikes fear into the heart of the enemy like hearing the sound of the A-10s and their guns, nothing gave hope to U.S. troops like seeing the A-10s come to help, and nothing was as “gay” as trying to use jets for CAS.
On April 27, 2026 at 7:35 pm, Dan said:
The Warthog has proven, repeatedly, over the decades it is unsurpassed at close air support. But for some unfathomable reason AF Brass morons want to get rid of it. We should sentence these same morons to be on the front lines danger close and tell them the only support they get is from an unsuitable platform….like the F 35.
No platform lives forever and eventually the A10 will no longer be flyable. The military needs to start planning NOW for a replacement. One at least as capable. And if the AF won’t cooperate then let the Army do it. They want the A10 even if the AF doesn’t.
On April 27, 2026 at 8:46 pm, X said:
Effective CAS airframe? Hell, yeah. Beautiful? Meh… beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s beautiful from a functional and utilitarian point of view, but aesthetics…? Eh.
On April 27, 2026 at 9:31 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
If the USAF doesn’t want the A-10, then detach the Thunderbolt II units from the Air Force and attach them to the Army and Marine Corps. The Air Force has been complaining about having to do close air support at least since the Korean War – so fine, if they don’t want that mission, let the grunts have it. They know how valuable an air-frame the A-10 is, and will make proper use of it.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II represents one of the best per dollar values in the history of military aviation procurement – and is deservedly a legend – so naturally, that means the USAF brass are trying to kill it.
How about this for an idea: Fire the generals who are too foolish to recognize what an important weapons system this is, and keep the A-10 in production instead!
Getting back to taking the A-10s from the USAF and giving them to the Army and Marine Corps, I don’t know if that will violate the Key West agreement, but at this point, I don’t even care. And neither should the grunts. This is about keeping ground troops alive. The feelings of the USAF brass are secondary.
On April 27, 2026 at 10:52 pm, Michael Gilson said:
Check the Yarnhub historical recreation YouTube channel, they have at least two A 10 incidents. The most recent one is Killer Chick in an A10 Warthog.
On April 28, 2026 at 7:09 am, X said:
“attach them to the Army”
I don’t think the Army has fixed-wing pilots any more
On April 28, 2026 at 12:03 pm, Fred said:
It never did get used for its intended purpose of defending Europe against Russian armor. I agree with moving them to the army.
On April 28, 2026 at 12:10 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
@X
Re: “I don’t think the Army has fixed-wing pilots any more”
That shouldn’t be too hard to fix, right? Not with the resources to be found at the DOD…
The Marine Corps has attached air assets, so they shouldn’t be a problem. And Marine aviation knows all about how to do CAS.
On April 28, 2026 at 1:02 pm, Ken said:
The Army does have fixed wing, just not like in the past. AF wanted the ELINT operations the Army was flying. They got them and promptly grounded the C-12 for fewer new jet A/C. Army used to do short range transport. AF wanted it and promptly reduced it to nearly nothing. Pattern here. I do wish POTUS would make the rules. AF up high, Army down low. Army knows what is needed but the Army brass don’t want to pay for it out of their budget. AF brass don’t know sheite about dirt (unlike the A-10 drivers) and they don’t want to pay for it out of their budget. I do think CAS is changing. Will be all drone soon. Cheaper and safer without crew.
On April 28, 2026 at 4:50 pm, Paul B said:
Some ahole in WW II got them split. Once they came up with air war and Air campaigns it was over.
The flyboys let the Army have rotor winged air frames. They need to put a hook on the A10 and launch them from carriers. The Navy and Marines are not as butt hurt as the AF with stuff like that.
Combined forces is the future.
On April 28, 2026 at 7:07 pm, Fred said:
Like it or not, unmanned air assets will vastly outnumber manned in the near future. Of course, the Navy has a trillion dollars wrapped up in refusing to admit that the carrier is largely a 20th-century relic. Since unmanned air and ground platforms are the future, it makes sense to combine all ground forces (with the exception of specialty and Specops), and to combine all in atmospheric air assets and operations. Spitballing here.
On April 28, 2026 at 9:42 pm, Mike said:
AF officers want ‘fast and slick’ despite the hotrods not having any loiter time and being VERY vulnerable to small arms fire from Farmer Haji/Mbutu/Whoever. The A-10’s reputation precedes its appearance on the tactical battlefield and that fact PO’s the AF officer corps who are In Luv with ‘fast and slick’. I agree with other commenters – give the whole A-10 outfit to the Army/USMC and tell the AF to stick it when they object.
On April 29, 2026 at 1:11 pm, DeStir said:
Hi captain, I’ve been a reader for years. I rarely write or respond to any comments. However, I have some expertise in this. I agree the A-10 is a fantastic CAS platform and never understood why the some, not all, AF brass wanted to shitcan it. But, calling fast sexy jets “gay” and useless is going a bit overboard. Yes, AF pilots love fast jets. There’s an old saying “speed is life” and that’s true in a fight with other airplanes or SAMs. We want to live too.
Air Force aircraft have specific roles. I flew B-1 bombers (very sexy) and destroyed aircraft/troops/weapons so they couldn’t be brought to bear on our ground troops. As for CAS you use what is available, and sometimes it was sexy gay jets. Not the best weapon platform for CAS, but I will tell you this. My money was no good in several bars in America after my tours. There are 100s of men out their that claim that me and my gay jet saved their lives. Kinda embarrassing to me. As for all the commentors bagging on officers – In the Air Force, the officers do the fighting.
On April 30, 2026 at 2:00 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
@DeStir
Joking aside, most of the commenters know that the jet jockeys have saved lives on the ground many, many times. And will do so in the future as long as CAS is a manned mission. The object of ire here isn’t the gutsy stick-and-rudder man going down so low that he gets tree limbs stuck in his control surfaces, it is the brass. The guys with gold braid and stars on their uniforms.
I would also throw in the Pentagon/DOD, and our entire procurement system, which is a dumpster fire and has been for years. Proposed weapons systems are not evaluated on the basis of real-world effectiveness and value/dollar spent, but upon their ability to keep the trough full of taxpayer funds off of which everyone involved gets fat and happy.
By which I mean, the project officer gets his bump in rank and pay, the generals overseeing him get the same plus lucrative offers in the defense industry once they retire, the lobbyists get paid, and the Congressmen/Senators get to brag back home about how strong they are on national defense. And the defense contractors see their stocks rise, and the CEO gets a fat new raise and another stock option.
Who’s missing from the table? The taxpayers, and the men on the ground, the ones who needed CAS in the first place. Who speaks for them in the five-sided puzzle palace?