What the US should do with its A-10 Thunderbolt

After years of obstruction, Congress is finally approving the Air Force’s plan to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt . This is the right call, as the A-10 is no longer suited to America’s geostrategic needs. However, we should not simply dispose of this venerable plane; in the hands of our international partners, it can continue advancing the national interest.

The U.S. government created the A-10 in the 1970s to provide close-air support to American ground troops. At the time it was an effective counterweight to the threat of Soviet tanks, and in the decades since it has served the military faithfully.

The A-10 proved especially useful in the Gulf War, when it flew 8,100 sorties and destroyed thousands of Soviet-era combat vehicles and equipment. Later, it helped the U.S. destroy hardened enemy positions in the war on terrorism.

But major military operations in the Middle East have ceased. Today, our greatest adversary is communist China, whose tanks and emplacements are much more advanced than those used by the Soviets or Islamic terrorists.

To prepare to counter Beijing in a future conflict, we must make the best possible use of our limited hangar space and procurement dollars. To do that, we must retire the A-10 , as senior military leaders have called for. This will make room for aircraft like the F-35 Lightning II, and free funds for the development and construction of next-generation missiles and missile defense systems, which will be invaluable in any future Indo-Pacific conflict, whether that’s in Taiwan, the South China Sea or the Korean Peninsula.

However, the A-10 can still do a lot of good if transferred to allies and partners in need of it. The most obvious example is Ukraine , which is preparing to mount a counteroffensive against Soviet-era tanks and entrenched Russian positions.

At the recent G7 summit, President Joe Biden stated he supports training Ukrainian forces to operate F-16 Fighting Falcons, a first step to allies providing the planes to Ukraine . But even if we accept the president’s position, there is good reason to wonder if an air-to-air fighter makes the most sense. Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief, for one, believes Ukraine would fare better with A-10s. Moreover, F-16s require 6,000 feet of tarmac — increasingly rare in bombed-out Ukraine — to take off and land, while A-10s only require 4,000 feet of dirt runway.

Beyond Ukraine, potential beneficiaries of an A-10 transfer program include African countries in the Sahel fighting ISIS and Boko Haram, or even Latin American nations combating paramilitary rebels and drug cartels in the jungle.

Such a program would be neither unprecedented nor unusual. The U.S. manufactures and sells vehicles and platforms the U.S. military no longer uses on a semi-regular basis. For instance, production of the A-29 Super Tucano employs hundreds of Floridians in Jacksonville and supports counterterrorism operations in Africa and Colombia.

Simply put, phasing out the A-10 by transferring it to allies and partners is the smart thing to do. Not only would it help America adapt to the challenges of the 21st century, it would also help our friends confront their own challenges without deep U.S. intervention. That’s killing two birds with one stone — the best kind of public policy.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is vice chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, and serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

经过多年的阻挠，国会终于批准了空军退役A-10“雷电”攻击机的计划。这是一个正确的决定，因为A-10已不再符合美国的地缘战略需求。然而，我们不应轻易放弃这架久经沙场的战机；在我们的国际伙伴手中，它仍能继续为国家利益服务。

美国政府在20世纪70年代研制了A-10攻击机，旨在为美国地面部队提供近距离空中支援。当时，它有效地对抗了苏联坦克的威胁，并在随后的几十年里一直忠实地为美军服务。

A-10攻击机在海湾战争中发挥了尤为重要的作用，它执行了8100架次任务，摧毁了数千辆苏联时代的作战车辆和装备。之后，它又帮助美国在反恐战争中摧毁了敌方坚固的阵地。

但中东地区的大规模军事行动已经停止。如今，我们最大的对手是共产主义中国，其坦克和防御工事比苏联或伊斯兰恐怖分子使用的要先进得多。

为了应对未来可能发生的与北京的冲突，我们必须最大限度地利用有限的机库空间和采购资金。为此，我们必须按照高级军事领导人的呼吁，退役A-10攻击机。这将为F-35“闪电II”等战机腾出空间，并释放资金用于研发和建造下一代导弹及导弹防御系统。这些系统在未来任何印太地区的冲突中都将发挥至关重要的作用，无论是在台湾、南海还是朝鲜半岛。

然而，如果将A-10战机转让给有需要的盟友和伙伴，它仍然可以发挥很大的作用。最明显的例子就是乌克兰，该国正准备对苏联时代的坦克和俄军的坚固阵地发起反攻。

在最近的七国集团峰会上，乔·拜登总统表示支持训练乌克兰军队操作F-16“战隼”战斗机，这是盟国向乌克兰提供该型战机的第一步。但即便我们接受总统的立场，也有充分的理由质疑空对空战斗机是否是最合适的选择。例如，乌克兰国防情报局局长就认为乌克兰使用A-10攻击机更为合适。此外，F-16需要6000英尺长的跑道才能起降——这在饱受轰炸的乌克兰日益稀缺——而A-10只需要4000英尺长的土质跑道。

除了乌克兰之外，A-10 战机转让计划的潜在受益者还包括在萨赫勒地区与 ISIS 和博科圣地作战的非洲国家，甚至是在丛林中与准军事叛乱分子和贩毒集团作战的拉丁美洲国家。

这样的计划既非史无前例，也非罕见之举。美国经常生产和销售美军不再使用的车辆和平台。例如，A-29“超级巨嘴鸟”攻击机的生产为杰克逊维尔数百名佛罗里达州居民提供了就业机会，并为非洲和哥伦比亚的反恐行动提供支持。

简而言之，逐步淘汰A-10攻击机并将其转让给盟友和伙伴国是明智之举。这不仅有助于美国适应21世纪的挑战，还能帮助我们的盟友在无需美国深度干预的情况下应对自身挑战。这可谓一举两得——是最佳的公共政策。

佛罗里达州共和党参议员马可·卢比奥是参议院情报特别委员会副主席，同时也是参议院外交关系委员会成员。