By Mike Stone
WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. Air Force secretary extended the life of the A-10 “Warthog” attack plane until 2030, sparing the aging but beloved close air support aircraft that has played an important role in Iran from an earlier retirement deadline of 2026.
“We will EXTEND the A-10 ‘Warthog’ platform to 2030,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink posted on social media, adding the move “preserves combat power as the Defense Industrial Base works to increase combat aircraft 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. The A-10 has been used in the current conflict with Iran, according to U.S. Central Command. Its powerful nose-mounted guns have been used against Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports.
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 would free up money for modernization priorities like development of hypersonic weapons. Critics have warned that cutting the fleet without a suitable replacement would leave ground troops without adequate air support.
But the A-10 has proven almost impossible to kill, in large part because of its political staying power. The largest concentration of the fleet is based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, contributing to the local economy. The Air Force ranks among the region’s top employers. Arizona is a battleground state that has become increasingly influential in deciding U.S. presidential races.
In 2021, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly successfully pushed back against a Biden administration proposal to retire dozens of the planes, securing language in defense legislation that blocked any retirements. Kelly argued the planes should not be cut without a suitable replacement to carry out the close air support mission.
Air Force officials have also warned that keeping the full fleet strains the supply of mechanics needed to service newer aircraft.
The latest extension suggests those concerns have, for now, again taken a back seat to preserving combat capacity.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; editing by Chris Sanders)
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