A single A-10 Warthog aircraft is quite expensive, but that’s not the worst part

As if one military plane wasn’t bad enough, the US lost two in the same day in the current war with Iran. The second aircraft, an A-10 Thunderbolt II, downed by enemy fire on April 3 was in the middle of a search for the crew of the first aircraft, an Air Force F-15E, which had been downed earlier in the day. Fortunately, the pilot of the single-seat A-10 was rescued, but the aircraft itself is the latest casualty of the Iranian conflict. Considering how much the A-10 costs, this is no small loss for the United States. Even worse, there is only a limited supply of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly known by its nickname, the Warthog, because new ones are no longer being manufactured.

The A-10 Warthog originally rolled off the assembly line in the 1970s. At the time, the Air Force hoped to limit the cost of the aircraft to $15 million per unit by building the first 600 aircraft. That number, however, is in 1970s money—today, it would be closer to $120 million for each A-10. The math gets even more complicated when you consider that the Warthog hit in the Strait of Hormuz actually cost more than that, as every A-10 currently in service has been upgraded over the years.

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New weapons and other modern features added to the cost of each A-10

A large factor in the cost of the A-10 Thunderbolt II is its armament. Perhaps the Warthog’s most distinctive feature is its massive 30-mm, 7-barrel Gatling gun, which makes up 16% of the aircraft’s total weight. Originally manufactured by General Electric, the Warthog’s Gatling gun is now produced by General Dynamics and can fire more than 3,900 rounds per minute or 65 rounds per second. It can fire depleted uranium, armor-piercing, and high-explosive/incendiary rounds so quickly, keeping the A-10 armed only adds to its cost.

Even more expensive, though, are all the upgrades and retrofits the Warthog has undergone over the years, some of which even exceed the original cost of the aircraft. These upgrades include more powerful and advanced weapons, such as precision-guided JDAMs, incendiary cluster bombs, AGM-65 and AIM-9 missiles, unguided and laser-guided rockets, and mine-dispensing weapons, among others. New defensive measures, such as infrared countermeasure flares, electronic countermeasure chaff, jammer pods, and illumination flares also add to the Warthog’s overall cost.

Major upgrades to the A-10 occurred as recently as 2014, including more advanced communications systems, night vision systems, and digital positional awareness pads in the cockpit. In the last few years, Warthog pilots have begun using expensive HObIT (Hybrid Optical-based Inertial Tracker) sights mounted on their helmets, which can target 6 to 18 targets at once. Another expensive upgrade to the Warthog is a new pair of wings, which cost an average of between $6.4 and $7 million each. These new wings are added to the remaining flying A-10s in the Air Force fleet. About 162 of these Warthogs are still in service, and that number is only decreasing.

A new A-10 Warthog hasn’t been built in over 40 years

Aside from its high cost, losing a warthog in battle is a big deal because there are so many to go around. The last A-10 Thunderbolt II was built four decades ago – back in 1984. As mentioned earlier, approximately 162 Warthogs (designated as A-10C after being upgraded) of the original 713 are flying. Despite the limited supply, the Air Force has no definite plans to replace the A-10.

Part of the reason is that, despite its age, the A-10 is still a very powerful aircraft. Thanks to all of its expensive upgrades, the A-10 Warthog’s incredible capabilities make it an important part of America’s air power, which is very important in the current geopolitical environment. Although it was originally designed and built as a counter to powerful Soviet tanks, there are many use cases for a heavily-armed, all-weather-capable, ground-attack aircraft/close air support (CAS) aircraft.

Ultimately, no amount of upgrades makes up for its age, though. The US Air Force has revealed its intention to retire the aircraft and redirect its budget towards the more modern F-35 Lightning II. That hasn’t happened because, again, the A-10 is still a really, really good fighter plane. But, eventually, something has to take its place, especially since – as the warthog recently killed by the Iranian military reminds us – there are limited numbers of them.

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Read the original article on SlashGear.