A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility during Operation Epic Fury on March 9, 2026. The aircraft, commonly dubbed the Warthog across the services, is conducting maritime missions to destroy Iranian fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon says. (U.S. Air Force)
Three months after Congress put the brakes on Air Force plans to retire its fleet of 162 A-10s this year, the versatile Warthog is back in the fight, this time in a maritime mission chasing Iranian naval vessels.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff briefly mentioned the A-10C Thunderbolt II at a Pentagon briefing Thursday about the nearly three-week-old war in Iran, calling the attack aircraft by its familiar nickname.
“The A-10 Warthog is now in the fight across the southern flank and is hunting and killing fast attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz,” Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said.
AH-64 Apache helicopters are also prowling the same area, flown by the U.S. Army and “some of our allies … to handle one-way attack drones,” Caine said.
U.S. Central Command on March 15 released imagery of A-10s receiving fuel in flight while supporting Operation Epic Fury, with a caption stating the aircraft “can loiter for hours, standing by and ready to execute a mission whenever needed.”
An A-10 Thunderbolt II flies over the Nevada Test and Training Range during routine training on Feb. 26, 2026. The Air Force has repeatedly tried to retire the versatile, “low and slow” close-air support combat jet, which is costly to maintain and vulnerable to modern air defenses but championed as the “Warthog” by ground troops for its firepower and cover. (Albert Valladares/U.S. Air Force)
The A-10, first built in the 1970s for use against Soviet tanks in Europe during the Cold War, is designed to provide close air support to ground troops, capable of loitering near hot spots and operating under 1,000-foot ceilings. Its firepower includes a seven-barrel Gatling gun that can deliver nearly 4,000 rounds a minute, according to the Air Force.
Its maritime mission in the current war isn’t its first foray over water.
In 2011, an A-10 engaged two small Libyan watercraft in the country’s port of Misrata, destroying one and forcing the Libyans to abandon the other, U.S. Africa Command said in a statement at the time.
Despite the Warthog’s versatility, the Air Force has been trying to divest the aircraft for years, citing maintenance costs and its vulnerability to modern air defense systems.
Congress in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act directed the Air Force to keep at least 103 of the aircraft, with 93 to be designated as primary mission. The service is also supposed to brief lawmakers on its future plan for the A-10 by the end of this month.
