The Pentagon has announced the content of the 2025 defense budget, which includes the retirement of 56 A-10C attack aircraft. In recent years, the U.S. Congress has been trying to prevent the retirement of the A-10C, but with the large number of F-35A fighters equipped and the Pentagon's compromise to buy F-15EX fighters, the U.S. Congress has changed its position, and the A-10C has been decommissioned. In order to maintain the combat readiness of the A-10C, the US Air Force had to obtain parts in the aircraft cemetery, and at the same time also sought manufacturers to manufacture new parts, in fact, the US Air Force hoped that the A-10C could be retired as soon as possible, so that it could use the F-35A Lightning II fighter. The Pentagon plans to retire 249 fighters by 2025, including even F-22A Raptor fighters.
As far as the condition of the A-10C is concerned, it can actually continue to be used, and the original design of the A-10C has a lot of redundancy, so as to meet the use of ultra-low-altitude penetration. The A-10C is equipped with bulletproof armor in important parts, which allows it to withstand the blows of small arms and portable anti-aircraft missiles. The A-10C equipped by the U.S. Air Force is mainly used to combat ground armored targets, as well as ground fortifications, in addition to carrying precision-guided weapons, the A-10C fixed configuration of 30mm GAU-8/A fired depleted uranium armor-piercing shells can penetrate the top armor of tanks, so it is the main "tank killer" of the U.S. Air Force.
Regarding the US Air Force's retirement of A-10C attack aircraft, the US media "Popular Machinery" disclosed that the United States intends to export the retired A-10C attack aircraft, and Taiwan may take over, for which there is already a rhythm of not allowing the PLA to reunify the armed forces. According to US media analysis, once the PLA launches a military operation for military reunification, a large number of amphibious ships will rush to Taiwan Island, and if Taiwan Island has A-10C attack aircraft, it will be able to stop the PLA's amphibious operations, and in addition to being able to strike at ships at sea, it will also be able to carry out frontal strikes against armored vehicles on the ground. The number of existing Apache helicopter gunships on the island is insufficient, so the A-10C can improve the island's anti-tank combat capabilities.
The US media believe that the cave depot established in the eastern part of Taiwan through the "Jiashan Project" can save the A-10C attack aircraft from being destroyed in the PLA's attack, so it can take off and land by road, so as to achieve a strike on the PLA. The main fighter of Taiwan's current air power is the F-16V Brock 20, and from the perspective of weapon mounting, the F-16V and A-10C have some commonality, and because they are both platforms developed by the United States, if Taiwan buys a second-hand A-10C, there is no big problem in use. The United States has made no secret of the issue of arming Taiwan, and recently passed a bill on military aid to Taiwan, and the United States has already adopted legislation to enhance Taiwan's ability to "resist reunification by force."
There are no longer too many restrictions on the export of weapons and equipment from the United States to Taiwan, as can be seen from the United States' export of the M142 Seahorse high-mobility rocket launcher, which has been equipped with army tactical surface-to-ground missiles, and the United States has also provided cutting-edge F-16V Brock 70 batch fighters. as well as the M1A2T main battle tank. At a time when the United States is actively using the "Taiwan card," the United States is very likely to adopt a more aggressive approach, thereby providing Taiwan with weapons with stronger offensive capabilities, and thus may promote the export of A-10C attack aircraft, so it is necessary to be more vigilant against the United States.