The F-22 is supposed to be the fighter aircraft of the future and also is designated to replace the A-10. But the A-10 is being fought for by numerous military advisors who want to keep the aircraft due to the fact that it can "kick ass" with the best of them and is still a preferred aircraft for many Air Force pilots.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-22.htm
Sorry about that, I meant to insert this URL into my last message. All kinds of pics and specs about the new F-22. Enjoy!
The nice thing with the A-10 is you can shoot the thing all to hell and it'll just keep on smiling at you. It would seem to be a far more preferable aircraft for close air support than other more high tech (but also more fragile) aircraft.