The A-10 Thunderbolt II, a staple in U.S. military operations for over five decades, faces retirement as the Air Force shifts towards more modern aircraft, citing its vulnerability in potential conflicts with advanced adversaries like China.
For nearly five decades, the Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II has operated out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB), Arizona, but its aging fleet of ground attack aircraft has begun to make their final flights. The first A-10 arrived at the base in March 1976, and the entire force of Thunderbolt IIs is on track to be retired by the end of the decade.
Many think of the A-10 as a flying tank so old that she should be retired to make way for room and budget for newer planes like the F-35. And yet, there are those that just won't let this plane head into the sunset.
The A-10 Warthog is not meant to be pretty or stealthy and does not pretend to be anything other than what it is: a plane designed to provide air cover and kill things like enemy armor.