The U.S. Air Force won’t consider retiring the A-10 Warthog <http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-air-force-now-plans-to-keep-the-a-10-warthog-flying-1788309985#_ga=1.41855211.836898836.1483458923> from service at least until 2021, according to news reports. That’s a relief for ground troops who have come to rely on this workhorse of a plane.
USAF
Defense News <http://www.defensenews.com/a10%20retirement%202021> reports talks over the A-10’s future are still ongoing, with some deliberations over if the platform needs to be replaced with a new program altogether. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said today that he would like to see the conversation around the close air support mission (CAS) move from a “platform-centric discussion” that focuses on whether the A-10 is needed or not, to a more “family of systems” approach that recognizes that a variety of aircraft support operations on the ground.
Translation from bureaucrat to real English: the Warthog, like any other plane, is not a multi-purpose aircraft, and the military these days loves multi-purpose everything, as the great F-35 can program makes clear. <http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/f-35-a-great-plane-now-thanks-to-president-trump-1791824958#_ga=1.121287112.1551709916.1441293991> The A-10, on the other hand, needs to be discussed with the purposes it was built for in mind.