The A-10 Warthog’s Last Combat Hurrah Could Still Be On The Horizon

Aug 13, 2026 11:27 PM - 1 hour ago 1

Recently scheduled for complete status by the extremity of this decade, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, dubbed the “Warthog,” erstwhile again put its unsocial capabilities connected show successful combat during the Iran war. Aside from the tank-busting level performing a maritime domiciled against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ accelerated onslaught boats successful the Persian Gulf, the Warthog besides executed its original adjacent aerial support domiciled during the rescue ngo of the 2 downed F-15E airmen successful April.

Today, the subsonic onslaught aircraft, which has agelong had some fierce advocates and critics, is expected to alert until 2030. If Congress passes a caller bill, its work life could beryllium extended until fiscal twelvemonth 2033, aliases moreover FY2037, if the U.S. doesn’t create and deploy a reliable replacement adjacent aerial support craft successful the meantime.

Arguably, if it weren’t for the Iran warfare launched past February 28, the A-10 could person made its past formation this September, per the original timetable. The U.S. Air Force decided successful April to support the level flying done FY2030, pinch Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink announcing the decision successful a station connected X. Previously, it had been scheduled for complete status by the extremity of FY2029.

Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged the important domiciled played by Warthogs successful the Iran rescue mission. A-10s, flying successful their specialized “Sandy” combat hunt and rescue domiciled successful coordination pinch different craft and drones, he said, “audaciously penetrated force territory successful wide daylight” and were “violently suppressing and engaging the force successful a close-in gunfight.”

Despite specified acknowledgments of its continued relevance successful modern war, TOPGUN Navy Fighter Weapons School coach Paul “Gu$” Garcia outlined really the USAF still hasn’t met the financial committedness required for preserving the A-10’s combat power. Writing successful a June editorial for The War Zone, he warned that this deficiency of committedness will consequence successful an “irreversible nonaccomplishment of A-10 combat capability” successful specified months. Without urgent action, he added, “the A-10 will modulation from a combat plus to a statement point waiting for liquidation.”

The author, who flew some the F/A-18 Hornet and F-22 Raptor during his career, underlined that the A-10, successful work since 1977, wasn’t simply preserved retired of nostalgia but alternatively because it has erstwhile again “proven useful successful ways galore planners understand.”

“Today, it provides unsocial worth unmatched by immoderate of its adjacent tactical aircraft,” he wrote. “It operates from austere locations, supports standoff and maritime strike, and validates emerging lower-cost weapons that reduces unit connected much costly onslaught aircraft.”

Congressman Abe Hamadeh besides wants to sphere the A-10’s combat capacity and work life and introduced H.R. 9780 to the House of Representatives on pinch Representative Don Davis and 4 much lawmakers connected July 20. Titled the ‘Bolstering Recognition, Resurgence, Retention, and Remembrance of the Thunderbolt Act of 2026,’ aliases ‘BRRRRT Act,’ successful reference to the sound the powerful seven-barrel 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger autocannon the A-10 is built astir makes, it defends the Warthog’s work grounds and lays retired a broad scheme for keeping it successful operation. If passed, the authorities would, among different things, forestall the Department of Defense from reducing the A-10 fleet beneath 126 afloat operational craft from FY2027 and reconstruct capable capacity to support a 126-strong A-10 fleet until astatine slightest FY2033.

BRRRRT outlines circumstantial criteria for what would suffice arsenic an acceptable replacement for the venerable Warthog. For one, it must resume the A-10’s superior missions, including adjacent aerial support and combat hunt and rescue. That request would make it much difficult for the Air Force to reason pinch immoderate credibility that the existing combatant jets from fourth-generation F-15 and F-16s to fifth-generation F-22s and F-35s could feasibly switch these superior missions of the A-10.

“Surplus A-10 craft whitethorn clasp worth for information cooperation, partner burden-sharing, contingency operations, aliases recoverable retention arrangements,” sounds the bill. “It is imaginable that specified craft could beryllium transferred to eligible overseas partners done existing authorities, maintained successful recoverable position for early overseas subject income aliases excess defense articles consideration, aliases utilized to support contingency basing aliases conjugation interoperability requirements.”

On July 8, 2024, the Senate Armed Services Committee suggested that Washington could perchance transportation “retiring A-10 craft to Jordan” if deemed feasible. As argued present astatine the time, Jordan could find adjacent aerial support craft useful successful bolstering its separator information against various threats.

Aside from preserving the A-10 and its capabilities, the measure calls for “a scheme to transportation retired competitory experimentation, prototyping, and operational appraisal of autonomous, semi-autonomous, artificial intelligence-enabled, and adjunct craft capabilities applicable to the A-10 ngo set.”

Further down, it proposes: “An appraisal of the applicability of A-10 operational lessons to human-machine teaming, autonomous collaborative aliases adjunct aircraft, artificial intelligence-enabled ngo readying and targeting support, integer battlefield communications, distributed air-ground integration, and different emerging capabilities.”

Additionally, it advocates integrating “private-sector and nontraditional defense partners” for specified “operational experimentation aliases testing utilizing A-10 units.”

In different words, proponents of the A-10’s continued operational work don’t envisage keeping the 50-year-old craft flying successful its original form, which it wasn’t successful immoderate case. As noted present past year, the A-10 has already seen immoderate important upgrades and modifications successful the first half of the 2020s. For example, package upgrades person made it compatible pinch the GBU-39B small-diameter bomb, which it tin transportation 16 astatine a time, enabling a level designed for adjacent aerial support to execute precision standoff strikes. It’s besides compatible pinch the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, which converts mini unguided 70mm Hydra 70 rockets into precision-guided munitions, of which the bulky Warthog tin transportation 38 per mission. Costing astir $22,000 each, these rockets are overmuch cheaper than astir accepted PGMs. The FALCO strategy was besides precocious cleared for usage connected the A-10, enabling it to accurately occurrence APKWS rockets astatine drones arsenic good arsenic aboveground targets. So, while the A-10’s superior ngo remains adjacent aerial support, it’s been gradually gaining respective secondary combat capabilities the longer it stays successful service.

With the precocious complaint of costly munitions expended during the Iran war, the Pentagon is seeking much cost-effective weapons, from drones to cruise missiles, that it tin nutrient faster and astatine scale. Garcia’s study that planners already understand that the A-10 “validates emerging lower-cost weapons that reduces unit connected much costly onslaught aircraft” suggests it could partially meet specified demands for much cost-effective systems.

Should the BRRRRT Act pass, these caller strategy upgrades and the incorporation of additional, comparatively low-cost armaments apt won’t people the past to beryllium made to the A-10, pinch moreover a imaginable autonomous exemplary successful its future. And the 2026 Iran warfare whitethorn not spell down successful history arsenic the Warthog’s past combat hurrah.