We asked the Air Force historian and Air Combat Command if the A-10 fleet achieved a “first-time-ever” milestone late last month when one Warthog, supporting Operation Odyssey Dawn, attacked two small Libyan ships that were indiscriminately firing upon merchant vessels in the Libyan port of Misurata. “While we know of no other recorded instance in which the A-10 was used to attack a maritime target, this is not something that could be officially verified,” Air Force spokesman Todd Spitler told the Daily Report in responding on behalf of the historian’s office. This also was the consensus among ACC officials whom command spokeswoman Capt. Shannon Collins queried on our behalf. “[T]o their recollection, the A-10s have never [before] attacked surface ships or other maritime targets,” she said.
Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, warned that Russia would remain an enduring threat to NATO and global security, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine.