Now that the Air Force has declared operational capability for the A-10s already revamped into C model status, officials are looking at the potential to stretch more life out of the Warthog fleet. Service officials have said that the current precision upgrade would keep the fleet viable through 2028. Now, reports Flight International, they could be going for more. Lt. Col. Ralph Hansen, Air Combat Command’s chief of requirements, told FI last week that there are dates being thrown around “that are much [later] than that.”
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.

