Overview
- Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Monday that the A-10 will stay in service through 2030 to preserve combat power as industry increases combat aircraft production.
- Three squadrons are being retained, with one active-duty unit at Moody Air Force Base and one reserve unit at Whiteman Air Force Base extended to 2030 and a second Moody squadron kept to 2029.
- The A-10 has flown frequent combat sorties in Operation Epic Fury, striking Iranian-aligned militias, engaging small boats in the Strait of Hormuz, and covering an April 3 combat search-and-rescue in which one jet was lost after its pilot ejected safely over friendly territory.
- The extension follows a wind-down of support infrastructure, including the final A-10 pilot class graduating on April 3 and the shutdown of depot-level maintenance, leaving funding, training, and sustainment plans to be clarified.
- Congress set a floor of 103 A-10s in the latest defense law even as the Air Force prioritizes newer programs like the F-35A and B-21, and recent quick-turn work added hose-and-drogue refueling adapters to expand the jets’ tanker options during current operations.