Here Come the Hogs

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

The Arkansas Air National Guard’s 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith, Ark., is actually happy to be trading their F-16 fighters for A-10 attack aircraft, reports the Times Record. The reason is that the A-10 has a longer projected shelf life—perhaps 2025 to the F-16’s 2012. The switch, of course, is BRAC 2005 motivated, but it was a close run thing that the wing managed to keep a flying mission because the Air Force had targeted the unit for demise. Now, the wing gets a different—not new but more lasting—aircraft and some hundred new jobs. It already has begun shuffling off its F-16s, which go to a California ANG unit with even older F-16s, and will continue to do so in small batches through spring, when it will begin receiving Warthogs.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org