Why Nothing (Even The Air Force) Can Kill The A-10 Warthog
By
Robert Farley
Published
6 hours ago
Will no one rid us of this troublesome A-10 ‘Warthog’? The United States Air Force (USAF) has spent almost two-thirds of its existence as an independent service trying to get rid of the A-10, one of its most well-known aircraft. But has the Air Force finally given up? It is odd to think that a fifty-year-old aircraft might have more job security now than at any time in its long history, but it does seem that the Warthog now has a relatively secure space in the USAF fleet.
The USAF has operated the A-10 Thunderbolt II, known affectionately as the “Warthog,” since 1976. The attack aircraft was designed on the one hand as an update to piston-engined planes such as the A-1 Skyraider, and on the other as a hedge against the development of advanced attack helicopters by the US Army. The USAF worried that technologically advanced Army helicopters could take over the close air support mission that its aircraft had (grudgingly) performed in Korea and Vietnam, thus undercutting the argument that the Air Force needed multi-use jets to perform that task.
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2021/10/why-nothing-even-the-air-force-can-kill-the-a-10-warthog/
