Success against ISIS keeps aging Warthog jets flying

Tried and true sometimes wins out over shiny and new—at least temporarily. Because of its overwhelming popularity with U.S. ground forces in the fight against ISIS, the U.S. Air Force has decided to delay the long-planned retirement of the venerable A-10 attack jet, according to a report in Defense One.

Affectionately known as the “Warthog” because of its ungainly appearance, the A-10 was designed for the highly specialized mission of Close Air Support (CAS), which involves delivering lethal firepower directly in support of troops in combat. It has the unique ability to loiter—fly low and slow and stay in contact with the supported soldiers or Marines.

The A-10, originally designed more than 40 years ago to attack Soviet tanks during the Cold War, has proven very effective not only in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL), but in the last decade in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even so, the Air Force has wanted to retire the A-10 for the past two years to make room for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is being rolled out to replace both the A-10 and the F-16.

Now some Air Force CAS experts concede that despite the F-35’s stealth and speed, only the Warthog can perform certain missions effectively.

“The single-mission A-10 is perfectly suited for the CAS mission in non-contested airspace, for instance in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia told Defense News. “The Warthog carries a wide range of ordnance, and can fly low and slow—unlike the F-35, which relies on its advanced technology to provide the pilot enhanced situational awareness of the entire battle space. … Can [the F-35] do close air support? Sure. But there’s nothing like an A-10 in a world where nothing shoots back.”

Many in Congress have fought vigorously to save the A-10, or at least delay its retirement.

“Today, the A-10 fleet is playing an indispensable role in the fight against ISIL in Iraq and assisting NATO’s efforts to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a former Navy pilot and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “With growing global chaos and turmoil on the rise, we simply cannot afford to prematurely retire the best close air support weapon in our arsenal without fielding a proper replacement.”

The Air Force wants to retire the A-10 in part because it has limited aircraft maintenance resources and wants to shift those to supporting the roll-out of the F-35, a program it considers a top priority, according to Reuters. But demand from theater combatant commanders seems to have persuaded top Air Force officials to delay the venerable aircraft’s retirement for at least a year or two.

“I think we would probably move the retirement slightly to the right,” Gen. Herbert Carlisle, head of Air Combat Command, told Defense One in November. “Eventually we will have to get there, we will have to retire airplanes, but I think moving it to the right and starting it a bit later and maybe keeping the airplane around a little bit longer is something that’s being considered based on things as they are today and that we see them in the future.”