"Partial A-10 retirement" also unacceptable to US Congress..

[Stratofreighter]

A plan by the US Air Force to partially retire the A-10 Warthog fleet appears to be dead on arrival, based on comments made by top Senate and House members Thursday.

That was the unambiguous stance taken by Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., during an event rallying support for the A-10 on Capitol Hill.

“It’s wrong,” Ayotte said of the service’s plan, which would retire 72 A-10s as a stopgap measure to provide what the service calls needed maintenance crews for the F-35 joint strike fighter. “It’s wrong and it also contradicts the intent of both bodies.”

Ayotte and Barber have led support for the A-10, and they both sounded frustrated that the Air Force continues to try and retire the plane, best known for its close air support role in defending troops on the ground.

“One thing that the Air Force, I’ll give them this: They’re persistent,” Ayotte said, sounding frustrated.

...much more at http://www.defensenews.com/article/2014 ... ement-Plan .