With the continued divestment from the A-10, other aircraft will be called upon to fill the close air support role.
The celebrated A-10 Warthog took another step closer to retirement last week when the Maryland Air National Guard divested its A-10 fleet to “The Boneyard,” an aviation burial ground of sorts, located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. The divestment ends a storied tenure for the A-10 with the Maryland ANG—which has made nine combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
“The Maryland Air National Guard has proudly flown the A-10 for decades,” said Major General Janeen L. Birckhead of the Maryland ANG, “answering our nation’s call and serving with distinction at home and abroad.”
The Maryland A-10s will hardly be the only ones retired. The rest of the U.S. Air Force’s A-10 fleet is expected to be retired before 2030, ending a pitched battle between the aircraft’s advocates (who believe there is no alternative with respect to close air support performance) and detractors (who lament the aircraft’s age and lack of stealth).
Saying Goodbye to the A-10
The Air Force announced in early 2024 that the Maryland ANG would divest its A-10 fleet before converting into an exclusive cyber wing—perhaps harkening greater trends in warfighting, that being, the move away from a gatling-gun equipped ground-attack aircraft and toward a cyber outfit.
The 175th Wing, which housed the Maryland A-10s, was already one-part flying wing and one-part cyber wing. But the divestment of the A-10s suggests the 175th could be on the verge of becoming, exclusively, a cyber wing. The flying portion of the 175th seems set to resist the move, however; Brigadier General Drew E. Dougherty of the Maryland ANG argued that “the 175th Wing has proven time and again that we are capable of adapting, leading and excelling in every mission we’re given. But our Airmen—and the state of Maryland—should not be left as the only state without a flying mission. It’s more than tradition; it’s a critical component of our national security.”
Similar arguments have been made in favor of retaining the A-10. Its supporters claim that the aircraft is a critical component of U.S. national security. While the A-10 is more than 50 years old, and its specifications were never exactly impressive, the aircraft continues to serve a niche purpose with great distinction. Designed during the Cold War to halt Soviet tank advances across the fields of Eastern Europe, the A-10 found relevance in the deserts of the Middle East as a reliable tank-killer and troop supporter. Indeed, the A-10 came to be regarded as perhaps the most capable close air support aircraft in the history of warfare—thanks in large part to its ability to fly low and slow, loitering over battlefields, and its ability to devastate targets with soda can-sized rounds of depleted uranium fired at rates of 70 rounds per second.
With the continued divestment of the A-10, other aircraft will be called upon to fill the close air support role—aircraft like the F-35 and F-16, which although versatile, were not designed specifically for close air support, and thus are not as capable in that respect as the 50-year old A-10.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
Image: Shutterstock / Greg Meland.
