The Lack Of Money is The Reason Why The U.S. Air Force Is Retiring The A-10

A-10 HAS BEEN PROVIDING CLOSE AIR SUPPORT TO GROUND FORCES FOR OVER 30 YEARS. IMAGE SOURCE: NORTHROP GRUMMAN.

Motley Fool: The Real Reason the Air Force Wants to Retire the A-10

The A-10 is a beloved fighter, but the Air Force can't afford to keep it and keep up with the United States' adversaries at the same time.

"Listen, I love the A-10. I think it's a fantastic aircraft with a phenomenal combat record. But if someone tells me I can only afford to keep two out of three aircraft -- the A-10, the F-16 and the F-35 -- I have to pick the F-16 and F-35, because they can fly more kinds of missions."
-- General Herbert Carlisle, per BreakingDefense.com

When it comes to the fight over whether or not to retire the A-10, there are two distinct sides: the Air Force, which wants to retire the A-10, and Congress, which wants to keep the A-10. And while it may be tempting to chalk this fight up to a power struggle between Congress and the Air Force, there's more going on in this disagreement than meets the eye.

The question is: Why does the Air Force really want to retire the A-10, and could this impact Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet orders?

WNU Editor: Its always about the money. Unfortunately for the U.S. Air Force .... the F-35 is taking almost all of that money .... and using the A-10 for close air support is not exactly what the U.S. Air Force is interested in. Sighhh ... pity the poor grunts on the ground.