Warthog attack plane finds new life in Trump administration

FILE - In this May 13, 2004 file photo, A-10's from the 111th Fighter Wing are seen in the foreground as a U.S. Navy C-130 takes off from N.A.S. J.R.B. Willow Grove in Willow Grove Pa. The Warthog is sitting pretty. Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration’s view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets. (AP Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek, File) FILE - In this May 13, 2004 file photo, A-10's from the 111th Fighter Wing are seen in the foreground as a U.S. Navy C-130 takes off from N.A.S. J.R.B. Willow Grove in Willow Grove Pa. The Warthog is sitting pretty. Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration’s view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets. (AP Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek, File)

By Associated Press May 27, 2017 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Warthog is sitting pretty.

Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration’s view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets.

In the 2018 Pentagon budget plan sent to Congress this week, the Air Force proposed to keep all 283 A-10s flying for the foreseeable future.

Three years ago, the Pentagon proposed scrapping the fleet for what it estimated would be $3.5 billion in savings over five years. Congress said no.

The following year, the military tried again but said the retirement would not be final until 2019. Congress again said no.