A-10 Retirement? Not Quite Yet!

Congress is fighting hard to save the highly valued (by ground troops if not the Air Force) A-10 Warthog. This close air support aircraft is considered by many to be the best ground support platform available - especially in a counterinsurgency fight. The Tactical Air Control Party Association has sent a letter to SECDEF Hagel stating that the ". . . F-15s, F-16s, and B-1s cannot replicate the CAS capabilities of the A-10 . . ." The Air Force wants to scrap almost 300 of the A-10s to save money to buy advanced fighter jets like the F-35. Unfortunately the F-35 comes out on the short end when you analyze the "quality vs. quanity" argument. Some A-10s are still in service in Afghanistan and recently A-10s deployed to the Middle East to engage in the fight against ISIS. Read more in "A-10 Warthog retirement debated after replacements role in 'friendly fire' deaths", The Washington Times, November 30, 2014.