When questioned about his position on the A-10 Warthog, Defense Secretary nominee Ashton Carter, at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, responded to A-10 advocate Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., that he had read letters in support of the A-10 from the Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Association.
Carter agreed Wednesday to hear arguments from Joint Tactical Air Controllers (JTACS) for keeping the A-10 despite renewed efforts by the Air Force to retire the Thunderbolt. The TACP Association represents about 3,300 active and retired JTACs who had the mission of moving forward with ground troops to select targets and call in airstrikes.
Carter made no firm commitments on the A-10, but when asked directly by Ayotte if he would speak with representatives of the TACP, he said: “Absolutely, I will.”
Active-duty members of the TACP have been told not to offer opinions on the A-10, but the retired members have unanimously supported keeping the Thunderbolt, affectionately known as the Warthog in the fleet, Ayotte said. She said that the TACP members agree that the F-16, the F-15 and the B-1 bomber “cannot replicate the capabilities of the A-10” in performing the close-air support mission for ground troops.
Late in January General Post declared at a meeting that any service members providing information to legislators on the hill were guilty of treason. This statement caused uproar because service members are specifically protected by law with respect to providing information to the House or senate regarding concerns.
The Air Force last year sought to begin retiring the A-10s to clear the way for replacing them with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter but Congress voted for additional funding to keep the A-10s in the fleet through fiscal year 2015.
In its budget proposal for fiscal year 2016, the Air Force stated its intention to begin retiring the A-10 in FY 2016 “to focus available funding on more urgent combatant commander requirements.”
Under the Air Force budget plan, about 164 A-10s would be retired in 2016 but “the A-10 will remain operational and available for deployment until 2019.” The Air Force has estimated that the plan would save $3.5 billion over five years.
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