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 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022, authorizing the U.S. Air Force to retire some legacy aircraft for modernization, but specifically blocking the retirement of the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
The $768.2 billion defense spending package includes a 2.7 percent pay raise for the military and an overhaul of the Uniform Code of Military Justice aimed at combating sexual assault.
The bill also authorizes significant procurement of new aircraft across various services, alongside funding for U.S. Space Command and the development of hypersonic missile capabilities.

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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.