There is a functional idiocy at work here in that the Air Force ‘owns’ all of the fixed wing combat jets not belonging to the USN and USMC. The A-10 should belong to the the force that uses it, the US Army. Like the USMC, the pilots who do ground support need to come out of the training and ethos of the ground troops to appreciate their vital need. NOT SAYING that those A-10 pilots have done anything but a good job, it is just that their bosses in the USAF tend to look strategically not tactically which is the role of the A-10.
The A-10 and its successors should belong to the Army, PERIOD! Given the trend to “Joint Basing” and shared resources, I fail to see why we should eliminate the capability in the A-10 because it does not match the future requirements of the USAF.
Army and Marines.
The A-10 should be theirs, not the Air Forces.