--- title: "A-10 Vs. F-35: The Ground-Pounding Showdown You’ve Been Waiting For Is Almost Here" date: "2018-03-01" modified: "2018-03-01" authors: - name: "Jared Keller" job_title: "Former Managing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/f-35-10-warthog-fly-off/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Aircraft" - "Fighter Aircraft" - "Military Branches" - "News" - "Tech & Tactics" --- # A-10 Vs. F-35: The Ground-Pounding Showdown You’ve Been Waiting For Is Almost Here ![]() The A-10 Thunderbolt II may have evaded [a light attack aircraft replacement]() and the [congressional budget axe,]() but the beloved Warthog and its 30mm gatling gun is finally facing a brand new threat to its existence: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Defense officials announced on Feb. 28 that the F-35 will undergo critical testing of its reconnaissance and close-air support capabilities early in April, a major stepping stone before the Pentagon formally kicks production of the freakishly expensive and notoriously problematic fifth-generation joint strike fighter. But while defense officials are [keenly focused ]()on the F-35’s [soaring production costs](), the exercise may include a head-to-head face-off against the venerable A-10, a much-anticipated test of the aircraft mandated by the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that’s [guaranteed]() to be the best exhibition of close air support muscle [in years](). Related: Is The Air Force Still Secretly Plotting To Kill The A-10 Warthog? » "The Congress has directed the \[Defense Department\] to do comparison testing, we call it," Vice Adm. Mat Winter reportedly told reporters at the F-35 Joint Program Office headquarters, [according]() to Military.com. "I wouldn't call it a fly-off; it's a comparison testing of the A-10 and the F-35. And given that the department was given that task ... that is in operational test and evaluation plan." Fuck that: A fly-off by any other name is still \*absolutely\* a fly-off, one that’s expected to determine whether the feisty F-35 could prove a suitable replacement for the Warthog that’s made a name for itself tearing assholes in close air support roles. On paper, this seems deeply unlikely. The DoD’s latest [assessment]() revealed that too many crucial systems are “dependent on workarounds that would not meet Service expectations in combat situations.” Sure, the A-10’s been flying since the 1970s, but the airframe can still land without canopy, cannon, or landing gear if needed. By comparison, the F-35 hasn’t even entered into IOT&E; yet. That hasn’t stopped defense planners from pushing to kill the A-10. A 2014 Air Force public affairs guidance [obtained]() by Task & Purpose mandated that officials talk up plans to divest from the A-10 in favor of the fancy-schmancy new flying suffocation machine; as Defense News notes, the 2017 NDAA only included fly-off language precisely because Congress and the Air Force have [clashed]() over the future of the airborne murder engine for years. There are good reasons for this — stealth, maneuverability, and an expansive suite of weapons — but it’ll take a real-life head-to-head for officials to truly weigh the aircraft. ***So which one is better: The sleek new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, or the venerable A-10 Thunderbolt II? Leave a comment below or tell me at*** [***jared@taskandpurpose.com***]() ***with your most persuasive arguments for and against the aircraft and we’ll publish your responses, assuming they are legible, coherent, and not full of trash talk.*** **WATCH NEXT:** ## Author Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Facebook]() [LinkedIn]() [Instagram]()