{"id":2519117,"date":"2026-06-23T14:17:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T12:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/a-10-warthog-saved-extended-2030-iran\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T18:42:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T16:42:20","slug":"a-10-warthog-saved-extended-2030-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/a-10-warthog-saved-extended-2030-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"They Tried to Kill the Warthog. Iran Saved It."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><\/p>\r\n<p>The U.S. Air Force has been trying to kill the A-10 Warthog for the better part of two decades. Budget after budget, the brass penciled in its funeral. And every time, something refused to let it go quietly.<\/p>\r\n<p>This time it was Iran. After weeks of Warthogs hammering Iranian targets over the Strait of Hormuz and flying cover for a downed F-15E crew, the Pentagon blinked. On 20 April 2026, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink posted to X what no Warthog fan dared hope for: the A-10 is staying in service until 2030 \u2014 reversing a retirement timeline that was supposed to wrap up in 2029, and burying, for now, the plan to scrap the whole fleet years early.<\/p>\r\n<p>The jet the Air Force keeps trying to retire just got saved by the one thing it was built to do: ugly, low, loud, lethal close air support. The troops on the ground have been saying it for years. Now the bombs falling on Iran-backed fighters have made the argument for them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 8px; padding: 20px 24px; margin: 24px 0;\">\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 10px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 17px; color: #222;\">Quick Facts: The A-10 Reprieve<\/p>\r\n<ul style=\"margin: 0; padding-left: 20px; line-height: 1.8;\">\r\n<li><strong>Decision:<\/strong> A-10 service extended to 2030 (announced 20 April 2026 by SecAF Troy Meink)<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>What it reverses:<\/strong> a plan to retire the entire remaining fleet roughly two years ahead of schedule<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Force structure:<\/strong> three squadrons retained \u2014 two at Moody AFB, GA, one reserve at Whiteman AFB, MO; ~54 jets to 2029, down to ~36 by 2030<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Why now:<\/strong> heavy A-10 use in Operation Epic Fury against Iran<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>The gun:<\/strong> GAU-8\/A Avenger, 30 mm seven-barrel rotary cannon, ~3,900 rounds\/min, ~1,174-round drum<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Engines:<\/strong> two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>First flight:<\/strong> 10 May 1972 (Fairchild Republic YA-10); reached initial operating capability in 1977<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">Saved by a War It Was Built For<\/h2>\r\n<p>For years the Air Force\u2019s case against the A-10 was blunt: it\u2019s a slow, straight-wing relic from the 1970s that would get swatted out of the sky by modern surface-to-air missiles. Retire it, the argument went, and let stealthy multirole jets and drones take over close air support. The fiscal 2026 budget request tried to make it final, moving to divest the entire remaining fleet well ahead of the previously planned timeline.<\/p>\r\n<p>Then the shooting started. As Operation Epic Fury escalated in the spring of 2026, A-10s were thrown into exactly the kind of dirty, up-close work the jet was designed for. According to Military Times, Warthogs flew close air support in maritime operations around the Strait of Hormuz, struck Iranian fast-attack boats, and took part in the search-and-rescue mission that recovered two downed F-15E airmen. One A-10 went down during that rescue effort; the pilot was recovered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width: 550px; margin: 0 auto 28px;\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 400px; border: none; border-radius: 12px; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2046277241613758733&amp;theme=light\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-no-lazy=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>Suddenly the \u201cobsolete\u201d jet was the workhorse, freeing more survivable platforms to push deeper into contested airspace. The political math flipped overnight. You don\u2019t retire the airplane that\u2019s currently saving your aircrew \u2014 not while the cameras are rolling.<\/p>\r\n<p>So Meink made it official, thanking President Donald Trump for \u201cquick, decisive leadership\u201d and adding, ominously for the divestment crowd, \u201cmore to come.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #1565c0; padding: 20px 22px; margin: 18px 0 24px; border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.7; display: flex; gap: 20px; align-items: flex-start;\"><a style=\"flex-shrink: 0;\" href=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/secaf-troy-meink-official-portrait.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-opt-id=1390901384  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 96px; border-radius: 50%; object-fit: cover; object-position: top; display: block; border: 2px solid #ddd;\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/secaf-troy-meink-official-portrait.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Troy Meink\" \/><\/a>\r\n<div><em>\u201cIn consultation with [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth], we will EXTEND the A-10 \u2018Warthog\u2019 platform to 2030. This preserves combat power as the Defense Industrial Base works to increase combat aircraft production.\u201d<\/em>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 10px; font-size: 14px; color: #555;\"><strong>Dr. Troy Meink<\/strong> \u2014 Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, 20 April 2026 (via X)<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">That Sound. That Gun. That BRRRT.<\/h2>\r\n<p>Ask any soldier who has been pinned down with a Warthog overhead what the A-10 means, and they won\u2019t recite a spec sheet. They\u2019ll make a noise. <em>BRRRT.<\/em> The sound of the GAU-8\/A Avenger is unmistakable \u2014 a tearing, mechanical growl that arrives a half-second after the rounds do, because the shells are supersonic and the noise is chasing them down.<\/p>\r\n<p>The Avenger is a 30 mm seven-barrel rotary cannon, and the entire airplane was essentially designed around it. It fires a fixed 3,900 rounds per minute \u2014 roughly 65 a second \u2014 fed from a drum that holds up to 1,174 rounds. The depleted-uranium and high-explosive incendiary shells it spits are the size of milk bottles. Against armor, against bunkers, against anything unlucky enough to be in the beaten zone, it is devastating.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img data-opt-id=1878667081  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/a10-gau8-avenger-cannon-reload-kandahar-afghanistan.jpg\" alt=\"Airman reloading the GAU-8 Avenger cannon of an A-10 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">An airman reloads the GAU-8\/A Avenger \u2014 the 30 mm seven-barrel cannon the A-10 was built around \u2014 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, 2018. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Corey Hook \/ DVIDS.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>The cannon is only half the legend. The other half is how hard the A-10 is to kill. The pilot sits inside a titanium \u201cbathtub\u201d \u2014 armor plating built to shrug off small-arms fire and shell fragments. The jet has redundant flight controls, foam-filled fuel tanks, and twin General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans mounted high and far apart so one can keep running if the other is shredded. Warthogs have flown home from Iraq and Afghanistan missing engines, hydraulics, and great chunks of wing.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">A Fifty-Year Argument<\/h2>\r\n<p>The Warthog has been winning fights and losing budget battles since before most of its pilots were born. The first YA-10 prototype flew on 10 May 1972, built by Fairchild Republic on Long Island. The type reached initial operating capability in 1977, purpose-built for one unglamorous mission: killing Soviet tank columns pouring through the Fulda Gap.<\/p>\r\n<p>That war never came. Instead the A-10 found its calling in the deserts and mountains of the post-Cold-War era \u2014 the 1991 Gulf War, then Iraq and Afghanistan, where it became the sound of salvation for troops in contact. Its reputation among ground forces is close to religious, which is precisely why every attempt to retire it has run into a wall of resistance from soldiers, lawmakers, and the public.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img data-opt-id=1210560914  decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/a10-thunderbolt-centcom-middle-east-patrol.jpg\" alt=\"A-10 Thunderbolt II flying over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">A shark-mouthed A-10 banks over the U.S. Central Command region \u2014 the theatre where renewed combat ultimately won the Warthog its 2030 reprieve. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel Hernandez \/ DVIDS.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>This latest reprieve is real, but it is not a pardon. Congress had already forced the Air Force\u2019s hand: the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act required 103 A-10s to stay flying through September 2026, blocking the wholesale early divestment the service wanted. Meink\u2019s extension goes further, but it still ends with a shrinking fleet \u2014 roughly 54 jets through 2029, then down to about 36 by 2030, split between one active-duty and one reserve squadron.<\/p>\r\n<p>In other words, the Warthog isn\u2019t immortal. It\u2019s on a stay of execution. The Air Force still wants close air support to migrate to F-35s, F-16s, F-15Es and drones, and the clock is still ticking \u2014 just slower now.<\/p>\r\n<p>If you have never heard what the fuss is about, turn your volume up. This is the GAU-8 doing what it does best:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 24px 0;\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; border-radius: 8px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DB1ui_DIE8I\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-no-lazy=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>For now, the ugliest, most beloved jet in the inventory gets a few more years to do the only thing it has ever cared about: showing up when the people on the ground need it most. The Air Force keeps trying to write the Warthog\u2019s obituary. The Warthog keeps refusing to sign it.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-style: italic; color: #777; font-size: 14px;\">Sources: Military Times; Stars and Stripes; Defense One; Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine; Task &amp; Purpose; U.S. Air Force biography of Dr. Troy Meink; DVIDS.<\/p>\r\n<!-- mf-faq -->\n\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}.mf-faq-answer a{color:#5C91FF}<\/style><h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What is the A-10 Warthog?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The A-10 Thunderbolt II, nicknamed the \"Warthog\", is a U.S. Air Force attack aircraft built specifically for close air support \u2014 flying low and slow to protect troops on the ground. First flown in 1972 and in service from 1977, it is famous for being tough, heavily armoured and built around a huge cannon.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What gun does the A-10 have?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The A-10 is built around the GAU-8\/A Avenger, a 30 mm seven-barrel <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/stunning-images-taken-by-an-fa-18e-weapons-trainer-officer\/\">rotary cannon<\/a> that fires roughly 3,900 rounds per minute from a drum holding about 1,174 rounds. The gun is so central to the design that the aircraft was essentially built around it.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Why does the Air Force want to retire the A-10?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Critics argue the A-10 is a slow, straight-wing design from the 1970s that would be vulnerable to modern air defences in a high-end war. For years the Air Force tried to retire the fleet early to free money for stealth jets, but the Warthog's battlefield usefulness has repeatedly won it a reprieve.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>Is the A-10 being retired?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>Not yet. On 20 April 2026 the Secretary of the Air Force announced the A-10 would stay in service until 2030, reversing a plan to scrap the fleet about two years early. The decision followed heavy combat use, echoing earlier deployments described in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/warthogs-last-war-a-10s-deploy-before-retirement\/\">the A-10's combat history<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\"><summary>What does the A-10 do?<\/summary><div class=\"mf-faq-answer\"><p>The A-10 specialises in close air support and forward air control, attacking tanks, vehicles and enemy troops near friendly forces. Its mix of a powerful cannon, large weapons load, long loiter time and heavy armour lets it work low over the battlefield where faster jets cannot.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the A-10 Warthog?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The A-10 Thunderbolt II, nicknamed the \\\"Warthog\\\", is a U.S. Air Force attack aircraft built specifically for close air support \u2014 flying low and slow to protect troops on the ground. First flown in 1972 and in service from 1977, it is famous for being tough, heavily armoured and built around a huge cannon.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What gun does the A-10 have?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The A-10 is built around the GAU-8\/A Avenger, a 30 mm seven-barrel <a href=\\\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/stunning-images-taken-by-an-fa-18e-weapons-trainer-officer\/\\\">rotary cannon<\/a> that fires roughly 3,900 rounds per minute from a drum holding about 1,174 rounds. The gun is so central to the design that the aircraft was essentially built around it.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why does the Air Force want to retire the A-10?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Critics argue the A-10 is a slow, straight-wing design from the 1970s that would be vulnerable to modern air defences in a high-end war. 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Its mix of a powerful cannon, large weapons load, long loiter time and heavy armour lets it work low over the battlefield where faster jets cannot.\"}}]}<\/script><!-- \/mf-faq -->\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f0f4ff; border-left: 4px solid #5C91FF; padding: 16px 20px; margin: 32px 0 8px; border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0;\">\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 8px; font-weight: 600; color: #333;\">Related Posts<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 4px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/warthogs-last-war-a-10s-deploy-before-retirement\/\">Warthog\u2019s Last War: A-10s Deploy Before Retirement<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 4px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/warthog-learns-a-new-trick-a-10-gets-probe-and-drogue-refueling\/\">Warthog Learns a New Trick: A-10 Gets Probe-and-Drogue Refueling<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 4px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/39-aircraft-lost-the-full-cost-of-epic-fury\/\">39 Aircraft Lost: The Full Cost of Epic Fury<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Air Force has been trying to kill the A-10 Warthog for the better part of two decades. Budget after budget, the brass penciled in its funeral. And every time, something refused to let it go quietly. This time it was Iran. After weeks of Warthogs hammering Iranian targets over the Strait of Hormuz [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":2518965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2519117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A-10 Warthog Saved: Service Extended to 2030<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Air Force planned to scrap the entire A-10 fleet early. 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