Mike Stone
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. Air Force secretary has extended the service life of the A-10 Warthog attack aircraft until 2030, avoiding the retirement of the aging but beloved close air support aircraft that plays a key role in Iran with a 2026 retirement deadline.
“We will extend the A-10 Warthog platform through 2030,” U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Maker said in a social media post. He added that the move “preserves combat capability while the defense industrial base works to increase fighter production.”
The decision is the latest chapter in a long-running battle over the fate of the plane, which first flew in 1976 and has been on the Pentagon’s chopping block for more than two decades. According to U.S. Central Command, the A-10 is already being used in the current conflict with Iran. Its powerful nose cannon has reportedly been used against Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Some in the Air Force have long argued that the Warthog is too old, too slow, and too expensive to maintain, and that retiring it could free up money for modernization priorities such as the development of hypersonic weapons. Critics warn that reducing the fleet without suitable replacements will leave ground forces without adequate air support.
But the A-10 has proven nearly impossible to eliminate, in large part because of its political staying power. The fleet’s largest concentration is located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, contributing to the local economy. The Air Force ranks among the top employers in the region. Arizona is a battleground state that is increasingly influential in deciding the U.S. presidential race.
In 2021, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly successfully defeated the Biden administration’s proposal to retire dozens of aircraft, ensuring that defense legislation contained language that would prevent any aircraft from being retired. Kelly believes the aircraft should not be cut without suitable replacements for the close air support mission.
Air Force officials also warned that maintaining a full fleet would put pressure on the supply of mechanics needed to repair the new aircraft.
The latest extension shows that, for now, those concerns are once again giving way to maintaining combat capability.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders)
