While some aircraft in the US Air Force’s inventory seem to come and go as quickly as they were put in, one in particular seems to resist multiple attempts to kill it: the A-10 Thunderbolt II, affectionately known as the “Warthog,” or simply “‘Hog.”
Pretty much doomed to be targeted by Air Force brass since it first took flight (due to the unpopularity of the Close Air Support role in Air Force doctrine), the A-10 has been threatened with replacement by a multitude of planes, from the nimble F-16 to the fancy new F-35.
On Tuesday, an Air Force spokeswoman confirmed that the ‘Hog will not be replaced by the F-35 and that its retirement has been pushed off indefinitely.
The comments were made following a release of the president’s FY2018 budget request, as well as statement by USAF deputy assistant budget secretary Major General James Martin.
“The world has changed, so we’re trying to maintain capacity and capability,” Martin said.
The A-10 was slated to have a showdown with the F-35 to see which aircraft could provide better CAS. While the USAF did not publicly announce a winner, recent statements seem to indicate that no matter how fancy your jet, you still “can’t bog the ‘Hog.”
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