Small Wars Journal

A-10 Panel Missing from Air Force Association Conference

Sun, 09/13/2015 - 10:05am

A-10 Panel Missing from Air Force Show by Bryant Jordan, DoD Buzz

When Air Force leaders arrive in Washington next week for the Air Force Association’s annual Air & Space Conference, an airframe not scheduled for a panel discussion is one that grabbed many a headline over the past year: the A-10 Thunderbolt.

The close-air-support plane, dubbed the Warthog, had been targeted for retirement by the brass until Congress dictated otherwise. Air Combat Command Commander Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle is scheduled to address the AFA conference on 5th generation warfare, which means the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – a platform touted as CAS-capable – could come up.

Military​.com asked ACC if any A-10 talk was planned but did not hear back.

Observers suggest that the Air Force may be hoping to avoid unwarranted attention on the A-10, which they have repeatedly sought to divest to save money amid automatic spending caps…

Read on.