Report: Air Force backs off push to retire A-10

The Air Force has reportedly decided to put off plans to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jet fleet, a mainstay of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

The change of policy at the Pentagon will be reflected in its impending fiscal 2017 budget request, according to the industry journal Defense One, which cited anonymous Pentagon sources.

The Air Force has unsuccessfully pressed a plan to scrap the entire A-10 fleet by 2019 in its last two budgets. The move was blocked in Congress by A-10 backers, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, who argue there is no current plane that can match the effectiveness of the aircraft, known as the “Warthog,” in protecting ground troops in a low-level close air support role.

Top Air Force brass had already said the A-10 retirement plans might be put off because of the aircraft’s value in providing such close air support to ground troops.

In November, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle said keeping the A-10 was under consideration because of the demand for it in combat.

A-10 units have been deployed to help fight Islamic State group militants in Iraq and Syria, and units have been sent to Europe for exercises in a show of force in the face of Russia’s aggressive moves in Ukraine.

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McCain, who as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee led the fight to save the A-10 in the upper chamber, said he welcomed the reports that the Air Force is looking to keep the “Warthog.”

“Today, the A-10 fleet is playing an indispensable role in the fight against ISIL (Islamic State group) in Iraq and assisting NATO’s efforts to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe,” McCain said in a prepared statement. “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.”

U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, a Tucson Republican and former A-10 combat pilot, said she’s glad the Air Force “is finally coming to its senses.”

“With A-10s deployed in the Middle East to fight ISIS, in Europe to deter Russian aggression, and along the Korean Peninsula, administration officials can no longer deny how invaluable these planes are to our arsenal and military capabilities,” McSally said in a news release. She vowed to continue to oppose efforts to retire the fighter.

D-M is home to the nation’s biggest contingent of A-10s, with more than 80 of the planes in three squadrons along with support and maintenance units.