{"id":101609,"date":"2025-06-29T03:33:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T22:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=101609"},"modified":"2025-07-13T19:33:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T14:03:49","slug":"us-air-force-to-retire-162-a-10-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/29\/us-air-force-to-retire-162-a-10-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force to Retire 162 A-10 in 2026, New Boeing E-7 Program Cancellation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>WASHINGTON, D.C.-<\/strong> The U.S. Air Force plans to retire its entire fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in fiscal year 2026, marking a historic shift in airpower strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the same 2026 budget proposal, the Pentagon is canceling the <a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?s=Boeing\">Boeing<\/a> E-7 Wedgetail program due to delays and rising costs, impacting future airborne command capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"The U.S. Air Force plans to retire its entire fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in fiscal year 2026, marking a historic shift in airpower strategy.\" class=\"wp-image-101611\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-50x28.webp 50w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-1600x900.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-150x84.webp 150w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-450x253.webp 450w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k-1200x675.webp 1200w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/iitfoh0k.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo: Christopher Ebdon | Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-usaf-to-retire-all-a-10s\">USAF to Retire All A-10s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the Department of Defense\u2019s <strong>$211 billion<\/strong> discretionary funding request for FY2026, the U.S. Air Force seeks to retire 340 aircraft, including the final 162 A-10s, also known as Warthogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The move accelerates previous plans to phase out the close-air-support platform by 2030. If approved, this would represent the largest aircraft divestment by the service in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional retirements include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>62 F-16C\/Ds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>21 F-15Es<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>13 F-15C\/Ds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>14 C-130H (IATA: LRD)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 EC-130Hs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>14 KC-135 Stratotankers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>11 HH-60G Pave Hawks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4 UH-1Ns<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>35 T-1A Jayhawks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1 B-1B Lancer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably absent from the list are 32 Block 20 F-22As, which Congress has repeatedly refused to retire despite Air Force concerns about combat effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/31\/us-air-force-aircraft-fleet-in-2025\/\">US Air Force Aircraft Fleet in 2025<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-1024x577.webp\" alt=\"US Air Force to Retire 162 A-10 in 2026, Stops Boeing E-7 Program\" class=\"wp-image-99307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-1024x577.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-768x433.webp 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-50x28.webp 50w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-1536x866.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-150x85.webp 150w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-450x254.webp 450w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped-1200x676.webp 1200w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/USAF_E-7A_cropped.webp 1542w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">USAF Boeing E-7 Wedgetail (Artist Depiction); Photo- Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Boeing E-7 Wedgetail Program Cancelled<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, which was positioned to replace the aging E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, has been cut from the 2026 budget. Rising costs\u2014from $588 million to $724 million per aircraft\u2014and concerns about survivability in contested airspace led to the cancellation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In its place, the Pentagon aims to invest in space-based surveillance systems and bolster existing capabilities with more Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This move marks a significant departure from previous <a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?s=Air+Force\">Air Force<\/a> strategy, which prioritized the E-7 as the cornerstone of future airborne battle management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped-1024x666.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99742\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped-1024x666.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped-300x195.webp 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped-768x500.webp 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped-50x33.webp 50w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped-150x98.webp 150w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped-450x293.webp 450w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped-1200x781.webp 1200w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Navy_launches_first_local_F-35C_sortie_cropped.webp 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">F-35 Lightning II; Photo- Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Strategic Investments in Modern Platforms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the divestments, the Air Force budget increases investment in several key areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>B-21 Raider (IATA: EDW)<\/strong>: $10.3 billion total, including $2.6 billion in procurement and $2.1 billion in reconciliation funding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM<\/strong>: $4.2 billion to replace the Minuteman III.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>F-15EX Eagle II<\/strong>: $3.1 billion to procure 21 new fighters, up from 18 in 2025.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>F-35A Lightning II<\/strong>: Reduced procurement from 44 to 24 jets; budget drops from $4.5 billion to $3.6 billion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Next Generation Air Dominance (F-47)<\/strong>: R&amp;D increases from $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion, with a potential boost to $3.5 billion including reconciliation funds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Procurement for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone program also rises to $807 million, aimed at accelerating autonomous wingman development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"The U.S. Air Force plans to retire its entire fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in fiscal year 2026, marking a historic shift in airpower strategy.\" class=\"wp-image-99306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-50x33.webp 50w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-1600x1067.webp 1600w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-2048x1365.webp 2048w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-450x300.webp 450w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/A30-001_in_flight_over_the_United_States_in_April_2025-1200x800.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail; Photo- Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-budget-implications-and-outlook\">Budget Implications and Outlook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Department of the Air Force\u2019s total requested budget stands at $249.5 billion, including both discretionary and mandatory (reconciliation) spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Congress does not pass the reconciliation bill, the Air Force\u2019s budget would remain nearly flat at $184.9 billion, and the Space Force would face an 8.7% funding cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personnel funding is projected at $44.5 billion, while operations and maintenance requests total $77.7 billion across both budget categories. Procurement allocations for 2026 would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>$24.8 billion for aircraft<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$6.1 billion for missile systems<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$784 million for ammunition<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The budget also includes $362 million to purchase 14 Boeing T-7A Red Hawk trainers, while omitting new E-7 procurement entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a notable reversal, $387 million is restored for Lockheed Martin\u2019s AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), signaling renewed interest despite past setbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/s\/aviationa2z\" rel=\"nofollow\">Telegram Group\u00a0<\/a>for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMPLdrgsw_-jGAw?hl=en-IN&amp;gl=IN&amp;ceid=IN%3Aen\">Google News<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-aviation-a-2-z wp-block-embed-aviation-a-2-z\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"c3Pf36sJMp\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/13\/largest-air-forces-by-military-aircraft-2025\/\">Largest Air Forces in the World Ranked by Military Aircraft in 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Largest Air Forces in the World Ranked by Military Aircraft in 2025&#8221; &#8212; Aviation A2Z\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/13\/largest-air-forces-by-military-aircraft-2025\/embed\/#?secret=KfOEPqqBs7#?secret=c3Pf36sJMp\" data-secret=\"c3Pf36sJMp\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Air Force plans to retire its entire fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in fiscal year 2026, marking a historic shift in airpower strategy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":101610,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8465,8479,6761],"tags":[6365,3130,26202],"class_list":{"0":"post-101609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-aerospace","8":"category-defense","9":"category-news","10":"tag-boeing-news","11":"tag-us-air-force","12":"tag-us-air-force-f-47"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101609"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103139,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101609\/revisions\/103139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}