2. In 1967, the Air Force advocated for an attack aircraft to go against the Soviet Union in adverse conditions.1 The first Fairchild-Republic A-10 was delivered to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in March of 1976.2 According to James Drew of Flightglobal.com, “The Air Force currently maintains an operational fleet of 284 A-10Cs with a mission capability rate of 77 percent and an average fleet age of 34 years.”3 The fleet age of the A-10 has had an adverse effect on aircraft sustainment cost and readiness.4 Examples of aging items include wing cracks, engine thrust mount cracks, and engine mishaps.5 These items have drastically impacted mission capability.6 Despite the major effects of aging that have plagued the fleet across the board, the A-10 still …show more content…
The A-10 is the platform of choice for supporting ground troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. The largest campaign currently, is the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).8 A recent example of a skirmish occurred in November of 2015, when A-10 and AC-130 aircraft hit a convoy of oil tanker trucks.9 This action greatly reduced the amount of ISIS terror funding.10 In addition to striking ISIS funding, the A-10 plays a key role in stopping ISIS offensives. According to Richard Sisk of Military.com, “The A-10 provided devastating close air support for United States backed Syrian-Arab fighters in taking a town in northwestern Syria. Backed by 17 United States airstrikes, at least 79 ISIS defenders were killed.”11 The A-10 has achieved great success in the recent conflicts, but the environment is soon