The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly but affectionately known as the “Warthog”, has long since cemented its place in the annals of American military aviation history for its prowess in firepower and accuracy. It is a single-seat, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft that became the centerpiece of USAF’s close air support operations after its induction in 1976.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II is designed for close-ground support. It has two turbofan engines and a straight wing configuration, making it carry so much weaponry that every aircraft is capable of bearing 13 tons of it. The plane itself weighs approximately 12 tons without armament and costs the average cost to produce of $26.6 million.
Perhaps the most iconic feature of the A-10 is the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger Gatling cannon, mounted on the nose. This cannon can fire high explosive incendiary rounds and depleted uranium bullets which can pierce armor. The aircraft is often given a menacing appearance as it features fangs or a shark’s mouth painted on the nose cone, and consequently, the jet is given the nickname “Warthog.”.
Even with all this glorified history and battlefield record, the A-10 fleet faces cuts. The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act authorizes the USAF to retire now 18 of its A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jets, taking the fleet to 135 aircraft from 153. It had first started reducing with the 2023 NDAA, the first that allowed the retirement of A-10s, bringing down the fleet level to where it is.
For some time, senior USAF leaders have been demonstrating that funds spent to sustain aging aircraft out of OSD guidance are desperately required to buy more advanced multi-role fighters, like fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35s, and therefore have long been set on downsizing the fleet of A-10s. The modifications have kept the A-10 relevant, and new wing sets manufactured by Boeing—under contracts awarded in 2011 and 2019, will keep the aircraft flying into the 2030s.
The A-10 has been raised almost to the status of an object of cult among American ground combat troops, especially low-level gun runs, and close air support in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its design was focused on the requirements of an aircraft cockpit made of titanium for the pilot’s protection, along with the powerful GAU-8A Avenger cannon, thereby making it a real tank killer.
Recent testing has shown the main cannon on the A-10 is still very effective against modern main battle tank armor; this is 50 years since its original design. The aircraft, however, remains vulnerable to modern air defenses. The USAF still keeps finding ways to make the A-10 relevant, such as in this demonstration of its capability to carry and drop up to 16 Boeing GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs, precision-guided munitions that can strike targets from 40 nautical miles away.
With heightened geopolitical tensions in places like Europe and the Indo-Pacific, the USAF’s most advanced fighters must be off on active deterrence missions, thus enabling the A-10 to patrol other critical areas of the globe, like the Middle East. It was also part of this October surge of US airpower to the region following the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The heritage of the A-10 Thunderbolt II is tenacity and flexibility: earnest witnesses that even in the Information Technology age, its place is in the old warbird with the new military strategies.