The Air Force is adjusting its original plan for replacing Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve A-10s after several failed attempts to divest the fleet. A new Force Structure Action plan based on the Fiscal 2017 budget request details what Guard and Reserve units will fly once they lose their A-10s. USAF now plans to begin replacing the venerable Warthogs on a “squadron-by-squadron” basis in Fiscal 2018. The final aircraft is slated to retire in 2022 after the F-35 comes on line. For example, in 2018, the Reserve A-10 unit at Whiteman AFB, Mo., and the Guard unit at Fort Wayne ANGS, Ind., will both transfer to F-16s. In 2020, the unit at Martin State Airport in Maryland will lose 21 A-10s and gain eight C-130s. In 2021, Selfridge ANGB, Mich., will lose 21 A-10s and gain 8 KC-135s, while the unit at Gowen Field, Idaho, will lose 21 A-10s and gain 20 F-15Cs. The operational A-10 unit at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., will lose 25 Warthogs in Fiscal 2019 and will gain 21 F-16s the same year. The training units assigned to the base will be disbanded in Fiscal 2020 and 2021, losing a total of 58 A-10s, according to the plan. The Air Force will replace the units assigned to the Guard and Reserve, but there are currently no plans to replace Active Duty A-10 units. However, there is still time to come up with follow-on missions for the Active Duty if necessary, said Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements. Active Duty A-10s are stationed at Davis-Monthan; Nellis AFB, Nev.; Moody AFB, Ga.; Eglin AFB, Fla.; and Osan AB, South Korea.
“Military history shows that the best defense is almost always a maneuvering offense supported by solid logistics. This was true for mechanized land warfare, air combat, and naval operations since World War II. It will also be true as the world veers closer to military conflict in space,” writes Aidan…