The US will get rid of each of the nearly 300 legendary A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft by 2029

The US Congress is limiting the Pentagon's desire to retire not only the F-22 Raptor fighters, but also the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. However, the legendary planes, nicknamed the Warthog, will be retiring soon after all.

Here's What We Know

The A-10 Thunderbolt II performed well during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the U.S. Air Force believes that in today's conflicts, the effectiveness of the attack aircraft is close to zero. On the other hand, the US Air Force wants to make the most of the aircraft's capabilities. To do this, they use the Warthog in tandem with the B-1B Lancer supersonic bomber, as we wrote about last autumn.

The US Air Force regularly tried to get permission to start decommissioning the planes. The service wanted to divert the saved resources to more modern and profitable programmes. Each time, Congress responded by saying no. This continued until the fiscal year 2023 budget was passed.

In 2023, the US Air Force will be able to retire 21 A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. This will reduce the attack aircraft fleet from 281 to 260. We are talking about aircraft from the Air National Guard Squadron in Fort Wayne, Indiana. F-16 fighter jets in the same number will replace them.

In future years, the service hopes to maintain the pace of decommissioning the attack aircraft. Thus, all A-10 Thunderbolt IIs will be retired by 2029. This was announced by the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, General K. K. Brown, at a symposium where the development of a "mutant missile" with a bent nose was also discussed.

Source: Defence News