The Air Force has obtained congressional approval to move 18 A-10 Warthogs to a backup inventory status to help alleviate an F-35 maintainer shortfall, according to a Feb. 27 press release. Congress in the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act blocked the service's attempt to begin divesting the A-10 close-air-support fleet this year, but offered a caveat: the authority to designate up to 36 aircraft as backup inventory. The service has opted to shift 18 aircraft now and, according...
