Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) is introducing legislation to extend the deadline for retiring the A-10 Thunderbolt II, better known as the "Warthog."
The bill has been given the cheeky name of the Bolstering Recognition, Resurgence, Retention, and Remembrance of the Thunderbolt (BRRRRT) Act, the onomatopoeic spelling of the distinctive sound produced by the craft's 30-millimeter GAU-8/A nose-mounted gatling gun when firing.
Rep. Hamadeh has begun drafting the bill after President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that the A-10 would remain in active service through 2030, as the Air Force "plans to extend two squadrons of A-10s to 2030, one active-duty squadron at Moody AFB and one reserve squadron at Whiteman AFB."
The BRRRT Act requires a portion of retired A-10s to be preserved in a rapidly recoverable condition, making them eligible for future surge capacity, retention, and sale or transfer to foreign partners, including those in shared sustainment arrangements.
Additionally, the bill includes provisions for the Air Force to submit a comprehensive report to Congress on the A-10's combat deployment, pilot training, communications, and other related measures to inform the development of future close air support systems.
"As a former U. S. Army Intelligence officer, I know that the arrival of the A-10 creates the most beautiful sound ever heard by troops under fire on the battlefield," Rep. Hamadeh said in a press release. "For too long, the military industrial complex has pushed newer, not better, leaving our troops at risk by retiring the great Warthog. The A-10 is proof that newer isn't always better and price has nothing to do with performance."
Last week, the Arizona congressman introduced the Maverick Act, which orders the last three surviving F-14 Tomcat fighter jets to be preserved and put on display. Like the BRRRT Act, the Maverick Act's name is pop culture-based, specifically referring to the callsign of Tom Cruise's character in the 1986 action-drama film Top Gun.
