The Air Force is trying (yet again) to kill the A-10 Warthog. The ostensible reason is shrinking budgets. The real reason is that the A-10 is perfectly suited for a role (close air support) that the Air Force is equally unwilling to embrace or give up.
Jerry Pournelle has been expounding on the theme for years. “USAF will always retire hundreds of Warthog to buy another F-35. Always, so long as it exists. And it will never give up a mission.”
Being so well-suited for close air support of ground forces, the A-10 could make a big difference fighting ISIS (or even Russian armor in the Ukraine, assuming the administration was serious about Ukrainian sovereignty). This would be a great place for a strong White House leadership to step in and reset priorities for the Air Force. Unfortunately, strong White House leadership is exactly what we lack right now…