Lethal, “Irreplaceable” Warthogs

Lawmakers who led the fight to keep the A-10 in the Air Force’s inventory said this week the use of the Warthogs to destroy more than 100 ISIS oil trucks demonstrate the jets’ “lethality and irreplaceable role in our military when our country needs it most.” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), a former A-10 pilot, said “time and time again recently,” the Air Force has called on the A-10, noting its use in Europe “to deter Russian aggression, … along the border with North Korea,” and now “in the fight against ISIS,” according to a joint statement, released Nov. 18. The two lawmakers pushed to block the Air Force’s repeated efforts to retire the fleet, and noted in the statement that if the retirement moved forward “we wouldn’t have these one-of-a-kind attack jets available to strike at ISIS targets and carry out the vital missions for which they are uniquely suited.” Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., is home to multiple A-10 squadrons.