US Air Force says key Iran warplane, the A-10 Warthog, will live on to 2030

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."

Apparently, a lot of them can be returned to service. And often are.

From Google:

Military Boneyards: America’s Purgatory for Aircraft, Explained

Roughly 50 to 100 aircraft are pulled from the Davis-Monthan AFB “Boneyard” (309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group - AMARG) and returned to flying service annually, out of around 300 processed out of storage. While many aircraft are used for parts, others are restored to active duty, sold to allies, or converted into target drones.

Hill Air Force Base

Reactivation Frequency: AMARG typically regenerates or prepares for regeneration about 100 aircraft per year, though this number fluctuates based on military needs.

Types of Restoration:

“Type 1000” (Inviolate): These are stored in pristine condition for potential future recall and are re-preserved every four years.

“Type 2000/4000”: Generally used for parts reclamation (cannibalization), but they can be brought back to service if necessary, such as converting older fighters into drone targets.

Process: Restoring a plane requires extensive reconditioning, including installing new avionics, testing systems, and repainting.

Recipients: Restored aircraft often return to the US military, U.S. government agencies (NASA, Coast Guard), or are sold to foreign allies.
Hill Air Force Base (.mil)Hill Air Force Base

Notable Examples:

B-1B Lancer: Multiple B-1B bombers have been returned to service from the boneyard.

B-52 Stratofortress: Occasionally, B-52s have been brought out of long-term storage and returned to operational status.

Drone Conversion: Older F-4 Phantom II jets were famously brought out after decades for use as aerial target drones.

Fascinating and informative. Thanks! I had no idea so many are constantly pulled from the boneyard for restoration, sale, cannibalization or destruction. I thought it was a place to mainly keep old aircraft until there was a serious national emergency.

When I moved to San Francisco in the summer of 1973, I remember driving over the Benicia Bridge and being amazed at the Suisun Bay National Defense Reserve Fleet (aka the "Mothball Fleet"). I had no idea that such a thing existed. The old ships were kept for emergency reactivation, but that never happened and they were all eventually broken and scrapped. It's a lot harder to keep ships floating in brackish water shipworthy than it is aircraft in the desert.

The fleet was established in 1946 right after WW II, when the U.S. had a massive surplus of ships. The site (previously a Navy anchorage) started with about 125 vessels and quickly grew—to 340 by 1952 and a peak of over 500 in the early 1960s during the Cold War era. There were probably 300-400 ships there when I saw it in 1973. Today, there are only nine ships there.

The Mothball Fleet in 2001:

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