The U.S. Air Force Has Embraced The A-10

Protecting the A-10: Lawmakers oppose removing A-10s from the US Air Force's fleet, but they will have to find a budget offset to keep the attack planes flying. (Master Sgt. Becky Vanshur/US Air Force)

Strategy Page: Morale: The Customer Is Definitely Right

Twelve years after the U.S. Air Force decided to spend about $8 million per aircraft to repair and reinforce the wings on 252 A-10 “Warthog” ground attack aircraft, work was finally completed, in mid-2019 for the first 173 aircraft. The air force has issued a contract to have the remaining aircraft get the new wings. The wing replacement was part of a series of refurbishment and upgrade programs designed to keep the A-10s flying for another twenty years or, as an air force official recently admitted; “indefinitely.” This is another sign of how much the air force attitudes towards the A-10 have changed. Not only that but in 2007 the feeling was that the A-10 may well be the last manned American ground attack aircraft, and the entire fleet was to be upgraded with new electronics, to make the aircraft as effective as possible until the unmanned replacements arrived. But before this 2007 decision could be implemented, factions in the air force leadership sought to once more get rid of the A-10. The main reason for the 2007 refurbishment decision was the fact that the A-10 was the most heavily used ground support aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the most popular with the troops doing the fighting. It still is.

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WNU Editor: A must read on why the A-10 is not going to be retired anytime soon.