House panel holds off decision on A-10 fleet

The House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air forces is deferring a decision on the future of the A-10 attack jet fleet.

The subpanel’s markup of its portion of the 2016 defense policy bill, unveiled Wednesday morning, makes no mention of the “Warthog” aircraft, which means its fate will likely be decided by the full committee sometime next week.

{mosads}The Air Force has attempted to retire its A-10 fleet to save roughly $4 billion. But many GOP lawmakers argue the service has no suitable replacement for the Warthog and have fiercely opposed the plan.

Last week Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), herself a former A-10 pilot, said she was working with Republican leaders to include another year of funding for the A-10 in the “chairman’s mark” by panel leader Mac Thornberry (R-Texas).

Speaking to a roundtable of reporters on Thursday, Thornberry suggested he was inclined to save the aircraft, but declined to divulge any details about how he would go about it.

The subcommittee’s proposed measure does call for additional purchases of the long-troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet and for an investigation into the engine fire incident that occurred last year that grounded the entire fleet.

The measure also urges funding for various unfunded requirements by the military branches, including F/A-18 F Super Hornets for the Navy, and proposes an upgrade for the Stryker Combat Vehicle.