Key Points and Summary – With the A-10 Warthog retiring, debate flares over close air support and whether a “stealth Warthog” could survive modern air defenses.
-Stealth would demand a total redesign—the GAU-8/A nose cannon, twin tails, pylons, and low/slow tactics are antithetical to low observability—so a new aircraft would be cheaper than converting A-10s.
A GAU-8 Avenger 30mm cannon in the nose of an A-10 Thunderbolt II, assigned to the 442d Fighter Wing, at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, April 9, 2021. The GAU-8 is a hydraulically-driven rotary autocannon capable of firing 3,900 rounds per minute with a variety of ammunition types for close air support missions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Parker J. McCauley)
A-10 Warthog National Security Journal Photo.
-The Air Force is moving on, reequipping Michigan ANG with F-15EXs and exploring decoys like MALD, while soldiers lament losing the battlefield’s favorite guardian.
A-10 Warthog Stealth Aircraft? “Say It Ain’t So Joe”
With the last A-10 Warthog ground support aircraft being retired next year, the U.S. Air Force has a ground-support issue.
The Air Force did not initially embrace ground support, instead emphasizing strategic bombing. But during the Cold War, fears that the Fulda Gap could be overrun by thousands of Soviet tanks changed that way of thinking. The Air Force knew it needed a tank-busting, low-flying aircraft that could wreak havoc on masses of Soviet armor.
Thus was born the A-10 Warthog – a plane designed around its fearsome GAU 30-mm Gatling gun.
How About a Stealth Warthog?
With the proliferation of anti-aircraft missiles today, the A-10 would struggle to survive on the modern battlefield.
However, some analysts believe that a “stealth version” of the A-10 would not only survive, but flourish. The odds are against this ever happening.
The A-10 Warthog is one of the most beloved and misunderstood aircraft in the world. People were fascinated by the absolute firepower of the “flying tank,” with a titanium hull, affectionately known as the Hog.
Hogs laid waste to exposed targets with the trademark ‘BRRRRRRRT’ sound of the 30-mm gun. It was used in Iraq and Afghanistan heavily for ground support against the Taliban.
Not In the Fulda Gap, But Syria, The Russians Learned Their Lesson
In February 2018, A-10s were among the aircraft that came to the aid of a small U.S. Special Forces base in Syria that had come under attack by Russian Wagner Group mercenaries and Syrian troops who attacked with armor and armored vehicles. It was a slaughter that the Wagner troops won’t soon forget.
So overconfident were the Russians and Syrians, who after all outnumbered the Americans and the Syrian Defense Forces by 10–1, that they didn’t have any anti-aircraft weapons with them. This would prove a fatal mistake.
For 45 minutes, seemingly every American combat aircraft in the region took its turn pounding the mercenary force into the ground, leaving hundreds dead and dozens of vehicles smoldering in their wake.
A-10 Warthog NSJ Photos. Image taken on 7/20/2025.
A-10 Warthog National Security Journal Photo Essay Picture.
“Well, to make it short, we’ve had our ***** f—ing kicked. So, one squadron f—ing lost 200 people right away, another one lost 10 people. … and I don’t know about the third squadron, but it got torn up pretty badly, too. So three squadrons took a beating,” a Wagner mercenary can be heard saying in the leaked recordings.
“They beat our ***** like we were little pieces of s–, but our f— government will go in reverse now, and nobody will respond or anything, and nobody will punish anyone for this. So, these are our casualties.”
Ukraine Has Been A Different Story
Last year, then-Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown said that close air support was less of a requirement these days, and that low- and slow-flying aircraft wouldn’t survive in a war with an enemy like China.
The second half of that statement is true, to an extent. On a modern battlefield against an enemy like China or Russia armed with comprehensive anti-aircraft defenses, the Hog would suffer terrible losses. But the idea that close air support is less of a requirement is something hundreds of thousands of soldiers and Marines would challenge.
So, what would a “stealth” A-10 look like? And isn’t the very idea of a low-flying ground support aircraft antithetical to stealth?
The A-10 Warthog Would Need to Be Totally Redesigned
The A-10 Warthog does not have any stealth capabilities. It was designed before stealth technology was possible, and its mission involves flying low and slow over the battlefield to engage heavy armor, which is the opposite of flying stealthily over the battlefield’s airspace.
While a “stealth Warthog” is an appealing concept for surviving in modern, contested airspace, it would require such an extensive and costly redesign that building a new, purpose-built stealth aircraft would be more cost-effective.
The first order of business would involve the very characteristic that makes the A-10 the A-10: the massive 30-mm GAU Gatling gun that sticks out of the nose of the Hog. This awesome weapon is, unfortunately, completely unstealthy. The airframe would have to be completely redone.
However, in an article for Task and Purpose a couple of years ago, A-10 pilot Maurice Grasso detailed how the Warthog could be loaded with up to 16 ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoys, (MALD). These mimic the aircraft’s flight characteristics to fool enemy air defenses.
Carried by the F-16 and B-52, the MALD is a low-cost combat capability that offers commanders the opportunity to saturate an air defense picture and increase the survivability of fifth–generation assets. When planned and used properly, a few dozen decoys can wreak havoc on the defenses of a sophisticated potential enemy like Russia or China.
Bottom Line … The Air Force Doesn’t Want The A-10
We can talk ourselves until we’re blue in the face about ways that the A-10 can still be used effectively in supporting troops on the ground. But the Air Force doesn’t want it, and as of next year, they’ll finally get their wish.
In his piece for T&P, Major Grasso stated that A-10 pilots joked that the Air Force began plotting the replacement of the Hog the very day the last A-10 rolled off the assembly line in 1984. The joke is probably spot-on.
The A-10 Will Be Replaced By The F-15EX
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the Michigan Air National Guard, which is set to lose its A-10 Warthogs in 2026, will be reequipped with the F-15EX.
This means the Michigan ANG squadron will have to be trained on the F-15EX. The aircraft has an increased payload of 29,000 pounds, plus two additional weapons stations. It can carry hypersonic missiles, or up to 12 AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles; AIM-120 AMRAAMs; or a combination of up to 24 air-to-ground munitions.
Plus, it carries one internally mounted M61A1 20-mm six-barrel cannon that can fire 500 rounds. The cannon is no match for the 30-mm, but it is still powerful.
The aircraft is also blisteringly fast, with a speed of Mach 2.5, or approximately. The Michigan ANG pilots could soon be teachers, training new F-15EX pilots on the finer points of ground support.
So, there will be no “stealth” A-10s in our future, but it would be nice to see that 30-mm GAU Gatling gun put to good use somewhere down the road.
About the Author:
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications
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Brad Penders
October 4, 2025 at 10:40 pm
As a former Infantry platoon leader, I have NEVER understood why the air force even had the A-10. I should have been given to the Army from the get-go. But the air force gets butt-hurt about stuff like that. Don’t retire them give them to the Army.