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A-10C on Gowen Field, Boise Airport, Idaho, 20DEC2023. Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.
Both the A-10 Thunderbolt-2 and the F-16 Falcon were developed during the same decade; the 1970s.
A-10A Thunderbolts fly over the Pacific Ocean, 14JUN1977. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Joseph F. Smith.
In July of this year, the Idaho Air National Guard revealed that the U.S. Air Force is forcing them to replace their A-10Cs with F-16s, starting in 2027.
A-10C on Gowen Field, Boise Airport, Idaho, 20DEC2023. Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.
The A-10A (first flight May 1972) was the result of U.S. Air Force experience with ground attack missions over Viet Nam.
An F-16A belonging to Hill AFB, Utah, flies over Nellis AFB, Nevada, December 1979. USAF photo by Ken Hackman.
The F-16A (first flight in 1976) was developed as a replacement for the F-5E Tiger-2 (itself a replacement for the F-5A Freedom Fighter, designed to be a low cost aircraft for countries who did not have the money to buy the big combat planes, and was subsidized by U.S. taxpayers through the MAP [Military Assistance Program]).
The first USAF unit deployment of F-16s to Europe involved Falcons from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in 1981. They were sent to Flesland Air Station, in NATO-Norway. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Don Sutherland, 01MAR1981.
The division between those in the USAF who liked the A-10 and those who liked the F-16 began during the development of the prototypes, in the 1970s. My father worked at Edwards Air Force Base, California, during that time, and was one of the pro-F-16’ers. Edwards AFB is where both aircraft were originally developed. My father would come home from work stating that he hoped something bad happened to the A-10, so that the USAF would choose the F-16. What people (including my father) didn’t seem to understand is that both aircraft were the result of combat experiences over Viet Nam, and were intentionally designed for specific missions, which is why at that time the USAF wanted both aircraft.
A-10C on Gowen Field, Boise Airport, Idaho, 20DEC2023. Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.
Both aircraft have been upgraded over the decades, yet ever since the Obama regime was in power the U.S. Air Force has pushed to replace the decades old A-10 with the decades old F-16.
A-10C on Gowen Field, Boise Airport, Idaho, 20DEC2023. Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.
Gowen Field Air Show, 27AUG2023. Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.
Idaho A-10C on Lechfeld Air Base, Germany, 06JUN2023. Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.
Idaho A-10C over Southwestern Idaho, 15MAR2023. Idaho Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Becky Vanshur.
Air & Space Forces Magazine, April 2023: USAF retires first of 21 A-10Cs, in 2023!
Defense Update, May 2017: USAF suddenly reverses plan to retire the A-10C.
U.S. Government Accountability Office, August 2015: USAF needs to provide better information to justify retirement of A-10 and other aircraft.
Stars and Stripes, June 2015: Government Accountability Office questions USAF’s justifications for retiring the A-10C.
Congressional Research Service, January 2015: PDF providing background information on retirement of A-10C.
Washington Times, November 2014: A-10C retirement on hold after proposed replacement aircraft ‘frags’ five U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan!
PBS, May 2014: USAF accused of doctoring data to justify retirement of A-10C.
Arizona Daily Star, March 2014: Retiring the Air Force’s A-10C is a mistake.
Blind Bat News archives;
March 2023: 
NATO-GERMANY INVADES IDAHO?
October 2022: 
4TH TIME IS THE CHARM, IDAHO ‘HAWGSMOKES’ THE COMPETITION, AGAIN!
July 2021: 
IDAHO’S HERITAGE A-10C ‘8N’.
March 2021: COVID MORALE BOOSTER A-10C GUN-RUN IN IDAHO!
2016: NATO-TURKEY DEPLOYMENT REVEALS IDAHO A-10Cs ARE A BUNCH OF DIRTY PIGS!
IDAHO SHOWS A-10C PRIDE WITH CITY NOSE ART.
2015: OBAMA SECRETLY DEPLOYS A-10Cs EVEN THOUGH HE WANTS TO GET RID OF THEM!
March 2014: OBAMA REGIME TO STEAL ALL OF IDAHO AIR NATIONAL GUARD’S AIR ASSETS?!
