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The US Air Force’s fleet of Fairchild Republic A-10 have escaped the chopping block again – at least until 2015.
The recently-passed National Defense Authorisation Act for fiscal year 2014 prohibits the service from spending money to retire more of the venerable close air-support aircraft or from “making significant changes” to A-10 “manning levels” during the fiscal year, which ends 30 September.
In addition, the bill, signed by President Obama on 26 December, prohibits the air force from retiring or planning to retire additional A-10s between October 2014 and the end of the calendar year.
The bill does not apply to A-10s that have been approved for retirement in previous fiscal years.
The air force had roughly 320 of the aircraft at the end of November 2013 and is retiring A-10s at a rate of roughly two monthly.
When those scheduled retirements conclude, the service will be left with 283 aircraft, according to the air force.
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