The US Air Force will not decide on the future replacement of its force of Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft until FY2021, the date put forward for a replacement decision since 2015. Previous plans for a near-term A-10 retirement encountered congressional opposition. With the first divestments on hold until 2021, at least some A-10 units are likely to remain operational through the 2020s. Speaking in Washington DC on February 7, Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein said the US Air Force will consult with the Department of Defense and the other services before deciding on what the way forward will be for capabilities required to carry out the close air support (CAS) mission: “Air Force thinking has moved away from a single A-10 replacement. We’ll get this right if we can move from a platform discussion to a family of systems discussion.”
General Goldfein identified a family of systems approach not as being limited to a specialised CAS platform or multimission fighters (Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II), but rather as including terrestrial weapons (long-range rocket launchers), helicopters (AH-64 Apache), unmanned combat air vehicles (General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper) and bombers (Rockwell B-1B).
Currently, A-10s are carrying out a high operational tempo. In early 2017, the A-10 had the highest mission-capable rate – 74% – of any US Air Force tactical aircraft. In its FY2017 budget request, the US Air Force put the cost of retaining the A-10 through 2021 at $3.4 billion. All operational A-10s now have the helmet-mounted integrated targeting modification, reducing target-acquisition time. A-10 cockpits are currently being modified with a higher solution centre display. This allows pilots to view high-definition imagery generated by targeting pods. It remains uncertain how the FY2021 date will affect existing plans for Indiana Air National Guards’ 122nd Fighter Wing to convert from A-10s to the F-16 in 2018. David C Isby
