Defense Spending Bill Could Pave Way for Air Force to Retire Legacy Aircraft

National Defense Authorization Act heading to Senate for vote. Under it, the Air Force would still be prohibited from retiring its A-10 ‘Warthogs.’

Kimberly Johnson

Wednesday, December 08, 2021 at 06:33 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The House passed the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizing $768.2 billion in defense spending and a 2.7 percent pay raise for military personnel.
The NDAA permits the Air Force to retire some legacy tanker aircraft for modernization but explicitly blocks the retirement of the A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog).
Key provisions include an overhaul of the Uniform Code of Military Justice aimed at combating sexual assault.
The bill authorizes the procurement of numerous new aircraft and funds modernization efforts like commercial space data and hypersonic missile development.

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House lawmakers passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022, paving the way for the U.S. Air Force to retire some of its legacy aircraft in order to focus its resources on modernization.

Lawmakers, however, drew the line at allowing the Air Force to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The service—which has long attempted to retire the aircraft affectionately known as the Warthog—currently has a fleet of approximately 281 aircraft. The House defense spending package also requires the Air Force to report its timeline for re-winging the A-10.