Meink said on the X network that the fighters would not be retired to “maintain combat power until the defense industry ramps up production of fighter jets.” Defense Minister Pete Hegseth then wrote: “Long live the Warthog”.
One of the active squadrons using A-10s from Moody AFB in Georgia will use them until 2030, another from the same base until 2029. A reserve unit from Whiteman AFB in Missouri will be operational until 2030, confirmed a Defense One server spokesperson.
The Pentagon originally used A-10 anti-tank machines in battle attacks on terrorist positions, but now also in attacks on ships and mainly in covering rescue operations.
Dangerous rescue of the airman
A-10s played an important role in rescuing an American airman from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle that landed in Iran. During the complex rescue operation, other aircraft provided support, confirmed to the Business Insider server the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, who said that the warthogs “bravely penetrated enemy territory in broad daylight.”
“It was an incredibly dangerous mission,” he added, adding that the task force intended to pick up the pilot faced Iranian fire while locating the pilot and rescuing him.
“They suppressed the enemy by force when they engaged in a firefight at close range,” Caine added, adding that they then kept the enemy at bay. The danger of the event was confirmed by the fact that one of the machines was hit by Iranian fire. The pilot caught him on the territory of Kuwait, where he ejected.
The planes used the Sandy Package formation, which was created already during the war in Vietnam. There, rescue operations were provided by A-1 Skyraider propeller planes. Two of them, named Sandy Low, flew to the downed pilot and protected him from attacks on the ground. Another two from the Sandy High section provided protection for rescue helicopters.
The machines eventually came to be called Sandy because they used this call sign. Currently, A-10 machines are used for securing.
White House pressure
According to Dan Grazier of the Stimson Center, the A-10 was opposed by the White House, which pushed the Pentagon to keep the warthogs in service. The White House did not comment, but Meink thanked “the president for his support of our warfighters and his swift and decisive leadership in equipping our forces.”
Grazier praised the change in management’s attitude: “I can only assume that someone has educated them on how critical the A-10 is to these rescue operations because there is no other platform that can deploy the Sandy Package.”
As the machines are heavily deployed, the Air Force should look for a replacement: “It’s great to see that the fleet has now been extended to 2030, but the next challenge for the Air Force is to get together and work on a replacement for the A-10 program.”
The retirement of the entire fleet of A-10 machines was already planned in 2015, but Congress repeatedly opposed it. Finally, he stated that their number must not fall below 103 by the end of fiscal year 2025. In the second half of this year, the Air Force planned to phase them out in order to save costs by reducing the number of types in service.
They are not full of electronics
The A-10, developed in the 1970s for destroying tanks and attacking ground targets while supporting units on the ground, does not fit into the concept of modern warfare. They are not full of electronics, and on the current battlefield they would not stand much of a chance against more modern aircraft and air defense equipment, as the fate of similar Sukhoi Su-25 machines in the Russian-Ukrainian war showed.
However, they are irreplaceable in asymmetric conflicts when attacking terrorist groups, because they can withstand high damage and can attack from low heights with a cannon. Their rotating seven-barrel thirty-millimeter cannon GAU-8 Avenger with a cadence of up to 3900 shots per minute has a devastating effect on most targets.
Moreover, of all USAF machines, thunderbolts have the lowest cost per flight hour, currently it is reported to be about 20 to 22,000 dollars, while the F-16 costs about 25,000 dollars per flight hour, but it depends a lot on the version, and for the F-35A between 34 and 42,000 dollars.
