Breaking All the Rules: The US Air Force’s A-10 Warthog Was Circling the Drain But the Iran War Proved It Wasn’t Ready for Retirement Just Yet

Breaking All the Rules: The US Air Force’s A-10 Warthog Was Circling the Drain But the Iran War Proved It Wasn’t Ready for Retirement Just Yet

Gen. Dan Caine told reporters on March 19 that the Warthog was engaged on the southern flank against fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz. Two weeks later A-10s were covering the rescue of an F-15E crew shot down over Iran, and one of them was hit — the pilot ejected and was recovered. Three weeks after that, the Air Force Secretary extended the type to 2030. The aircraft's first prototype flew in 1972.