Fans of the attack aircraft affectionately known as the “Warthog” found a small glimmer of hope this week that the platform won’t be phased out as planned, due to the efforts ofSen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who secured an early meeting for A-10 supporters with new Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.
The Air Force wants to retire the fleet of 164 active duty and Air National Guard A-10s in the fiscal 2016 budget, a move that is similar to its efforts to retire the aircraft last year, which was blocked by Congress. The Air Force has argued that with budget cuts, it needs to retire the fleet to save that money and transfer the A-10 maintenance staff to the Joint Strike Fighter program.
The service also argues that the aircraft is too old and not versatile enough to keep flying under the tight budget constraints. It is slow and ugly compared with the Air Force’s other fighter jets, especially the stealthy, supersonic F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. But it is also heavily armed and armored, making it a deadly weapon in close-in combat against enemy ground forces such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
This year, the Air Force began a phased retirement of the system, announcing that 18 aircraft were moving into “mothball” status, where they will serve as backup aircraft as A-10s currently flying become unserviceable.
Ayotte revealed the meeting at a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting this week, when she thanked Carter for the time he gave to her and a constituency of former A-10 pilots and ground controllers.
Ayotte has asked Carter to review the Air Force’s proposal, which he agreed to do, she said.
“He listened and asked good questions,” said one former ground controller, Charlie Keebaugh, who attended the meeting. “We are grateful that he met with us, and we hope he will act quickly to scrutinize and overturn the Air Force’s campaign to prematurely divest the A-10.”
Carter did not say when he would review the Air Force’s plan, or what type of decision his review might lead to.
“I’m hopeful that the secretary will closely scrutinize the Air Force’s misguided and dangerous plan,”Ayotte said. The loss of the aircraft”will create a close air support capability gap and result in unnecessary American casualties in the future.”
