The A-10 “Warthog” is the finest close air support aircraft ever built...

The A-10 “Warthog” is the finest close air support aircraft ever built...  But it doesn't have the cachet the Air Force wants, nor is close air support seen by them as their mission – so they've been trying to get rid of it for over a decade now.  They've been stymied by a Congress that is, for once, actually supporting the troops.

Marines I know who have seen combat in Afghanistan have a reverence for this airplane and its pilots that has to be experienced to understand its profundity.  The reason is simple enough: the A-10's magnificent close air support capability has, quite literally, saved hundreds and hundreds of American lives at the tip of the spear...