{"id":82070,"date":"2019-09-04T19:53:26","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T19:53:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/04\/air-force-not-planning-to-cut-a-10-under-budget-reorg\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:58:08","slug":"air-force-not-planning-to-cut-a-10-under-budget-reorg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/09\/04\/air-force-not-planning-to-cut-a-10-under-budget-reorg\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force to keep A-10 off the chopping block in next budget request"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The A-10 Warthog<\/a> will not be one of the planes the U.S. Air Force requests to retire in its upcoming fiscal 2021 budget request, a senior service official confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a speech at the Defense News Conference on Wednesday morning, acting Air Force Secretary Matt Donovan stoked speculation that the service will retire the A-10 after announcing that its FY21 budget request will include \u201ccontroversial changes\u201d such as the divestment of legacy aircraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But speaking at the conference later that day, Lt. Gen. Timothy Fay, deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements, confirmed that the A-10 is not one of the aircraft under consideration for divestment and will stay in service until the 2030s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShort answer: No,\u201d Fay said, when asked whether the Warthog is on the cutting block. “I will tell you, I wish the response had been that the Air Force is actually bold enough to get after the threats that we\u2019re facing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more from 2019 Defense News conference!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to retain the A-10 likely prevents another major battle with Congress over the fate of the aircraft \u2014 one in which the Air Force found itself when proposing to mothball the fleet in FY15. After several unsuccessful requests to retire the plane, which lawmakers rebuffed, the Air Force decided to keep it in its FY18 budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It then restarted an effort to replace the wings on a portion of the A-10 fleet, awarding Boeing an initial $240 million <\/a>in August to produce 27 wing sets. Under a previous contract, Boeing put new wings on 173 Warthogs<\/a>, including one that crashed, and its latest contract could be worth as much as $999 million if the Air Force decides to re-wing the rest of the 109 A-10s that need replacements.<\/p>\n\n\n\t