Washington, July 3, 2025 (Agencies): The U.S. Air Force has unveiled a bold restructuring plan under its proposed 2026 budget, calling for the retirement of all 162 remaining A-10 Warthog attack aircraft and the cancellation of the E-7 Wedgetail airborne command and control program — moves that mark one of the largest aircraft divestments in recent history.
The plan, part of a broader Pentagon initiative to modernize the force and reallocate resources, would see the Air Force divest a total of 340 aircraft in fiscal year 2026. The decision follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive to cut and reallocate 8% of defense spending.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II, affectionately known as the “Warthog,” has been a mainstay of close air support missions since the Cold War. While the Air Force had previously planned to phase out the aircraft by the end of the decade, the new proposal accelerates that timeline significantly. The move is expected to face resistance in Congress, where lawmakers have long debated the jet’s relevance in modern warfare.
In addition to the A-10s, the Air Force seeks to retire:
- 62 F-16C/D Fighting Falcons
- 21 F-15E Strike Eagles
- 13 F-15C/D Eagles
- 14 C-130H Hercules cargo planes
- 3 EC-130H Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft
- 14 KC-135 Stratotankers
- 11 HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters
- 35 T-1 Texan II trainers
- 4 UH-1N Huey helicopters
- 1 B-1B Lancer bomber
Notably absent from the retirement list are the 32 Block 20 F-22A Raptors, which the Air Force has repeatedly attempted to retire due to limited combat capability — efforts that Congress has consistently blocked.
The Pentagon’s $211 billion discretionary budget request for the Department of the Air Force includes $184.9 billion for the Air Force and $26.1 billion for the Space Force. An additional $38.6 billion in mandatory spending is being sought through a reconciliation bill, which would raise the department’s total funding to $249.5 billion — a 17.2% increase over 2025.
The E-7 Wedgetail program, intended to replace the aging E-3 Sentry AWACS fleet, has been scrapped due to cost overruns and delays. The aircraft’s unit cost ballooned from $588 million to $724 million, and officials cited survivability concerns in contested environments. The Pentagon now plans to explore space-based alternatives and additional E-2D Hawkeye aircraft to fulfill the airborne battle management role.
If approved by Congress, the proposed retirements and program cancellations would reshape the Air Force’s fleet and signal a major pivot toward next-generation platforms and space-based capabilities.