Free Republic

The U.S. House on Thursday overwhelmingly adopted an amendment to the 2015 defense appropriation bill that would prohibit the Pentagon from spending any money to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II jet — a mainstay of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. But the fate of the venerated “Warthog” close-air-support jet remains far from certain, as the Senate still must act, and the issue will likely be hammered out in conference committee. The amendment’s bipartisan adoption was a victory for Rep. Ron Barber, a Tucson Democrat, and other A-10 supporters, who were chagrined when the House Appropriations Committee left A-10 funding out of...

South Korea — The Air Force’s ground-attack airplane in South Korea is being replaced with an upgraded version that can strike targets with state-of-the-art satellite-guided smart bombs, officials said Monday. The 25th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base currently flies the A-10A Thunderbolt II, known as the Warthog. It received its first three C-models with smarter weapons capability earlier this month, with more to come at an undisclosed future date. The squadron is known as the Assam Draggins and has 30 aircraft. The A-model Warthog can launch high-tech laser-guided bombs and other munitions, but not the more advanced satellite-guided JDAM...

3/3/2009 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations March 2, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here. In Afghanistan, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs dropped general purpose 500-pound bombs, striking a large group of anti-Afghan fighters amassed for an attack on a coalition forward base near Asmar. The strike repelled the attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy force. Near Sheykhabad, an A-10 flew a show of force to stop an enemy sniper attack against a coalition convoy. The attack ceased...

Boeing has won a $2 billion contract to build new wings for the US Air Force's Fairchild A-10 ground-attack aircraft, after beating rival bids from contractors including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Announced on 29 June, the deal calls for the delivery of 242 replacement wing kits for installation by the USAF's Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah, with the work to extend the life of the A-10 fleet by at least 20 years. More than 700 A-10s were introduced from 1976 and, despite regular threats of retirement, the type remains one of the air force's most effective...

The Air Force is planning to give the A-10 Warthog an ignominious homecoming from the Persian Gulf. In early April, Maj. Gen. David Deptula of the Air Combat Command ordered a subordinate to draft a memo justifying the decommissioning of the A-10 fleet. The remaining eight active duty A-10 squadrons (in 1991, the number was 18) could be mothballed as early as 2004. This is a serious mistake. The A-10 was one of the most effective, lethal and feared weapons of the Iraqi war. Its absence will put troops on the battlefield in grave danger. The decision to take this...