Fighter Sweep
  • Home
  • Military Aviation
  • Air Force
  • Navy
  • Spec Ops
  • Expert Analysis
  • Careers
  • Photos
Home Previous Post Next Post
Follow @fightersweep

USAF: A-10 Divestiture Begins In 2018

March 26, 2016 USAF: A-10 Divestiture Begins In 2018
FighterSweep Staff 2 Comments News
Apparently there was some confusion over when the A-10 divestiture would actually start, given SECDEF Carter’s declaration the aircraft would be in service until 2022. That is a true statement in context, but when you break it down, it means the last of the A-10s will retire in 2022. The draw-down is going to start happening sooner–much sooner, in fact. According to U.S. Air Force officials, it will begin in FY 2018. And by General Welsh’s admission, they know exactly what they’re losing: CAS capacity.

Amid some confusion over when the Air Force will retire the A-10 attack plane, top service officials [recently] clarified the plan to start drawing down Warthog squadrons in fiscal 2018.

Comments from Defense Secretary Ash Carter in early February seemed to indicate the Air Force would postpone the divestiture of the A-10 until fiscal 2022. In a speech previewing the budget release, Carter noted commanders’ demand for the A-10 and other fourth-generation aircraft in the fight against the Islamic State.

“The budget defers the A-10’s [divestiture] until 2022, replacing it with F-35s on a squadron-by-squadron basis so we’ll always have enough aircraft for today’s conflict,” Carter said Feb. 2.

USAF: A-10 Divestiture Begins In 2018

A Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II delivers 30mm rounds from the GAU-8 cannon in its nose, decimating the intended target. (Photo by Jonathan Derden)

However, the Air Force will actually begin sunsetting the beloved attack plane in FY18, divesting two A-10 squadrons, or 49 planes, that year, a service spokeswoman confirmed March 17. The service will retire 49 aircraft in FY19, 64 in FY20, and 96 in FY21.

The decision to retire the A-10 beginning in FY18 was purely budget-driven, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said in response to questions from Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., during a March 16 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. The multirole F-35 has been billed as an across-the-board replacement for all of the Air Force’s legacy fighter jets, but the F-35 cannot match the A-10 as a single-mission close-air support (CAS) platform, officials have said.

“The F-35 is intended to the high-threat CAS platform,” Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said during the hearing. “We are losing CAS capacity, that’s what the Budget Control Act has done to us.”

The article in its entirety can be viewed right here at Defense News.
(Featured photo by Jonathan Derden)

Related Posts

  • Former Air Force pilot instructor explains why there’s just no replacing the A-10 ‘Warthog’Former Air Force pilot instructor explains why there’s just no replacing the A-10 ‘Warthog’
  • Goldfein Nominated As Next CSAF!Goldfein Nominated As Next CSAF!
  • Warthog: Dutiful, Dependable, and DevastatingWarthog: Dutiful, Dependable, and Devastating
  • Colonel Kay: A Tribute To The Father Of The A-10Colonel Kay: A Tribute To The Father Of The A-10
  • Senator John McCain Challenges CSAF On A-10Senator John McCain Challenges CSAF On A-10

Find Us on Facebook

FighterSweep.com

Sign Up
for the Newsletter

What’s Hot

  • blue-angels-reporter-blacks-out-passes-out
    December 5, 2017

    Watch: News Reporter Blacks Out on Ride with US Navy Blue Angels

  • Whistling Death: How The Corsair Got Its Nickname
    August 30, 2019

    Whistling Death: How the Corsair got its nickname

  • Rockwell B-1B Lancer: Bad to the Bone!
    April 26, 2015

    Bad to the Bone: Fun Facts about the Boeing (Rockwell) B-1B Lancer

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter Twitter

Recent Comments

  • pak152 " the team came up with what the Brits dubbed as Mustang, powered by a [...]
  • P K Polish AF never has and never will operate Su-27, An-26 aircraft has been out [...]
  • bnarfhyde The best book is also great. have a [...]
  • TerrorTrike ive never survived this long with such a clumsy FL- cG.866B.CO/NC6155hc
  • D4rksupeme yessss truck kunnnnnnnn i needddd you m.866E.CO/vC6155H

© Copyright 2023 SOFREP Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...