However, Welsh said the A-10 finds itself on the chopping block because “it’s a single-mission airplane, essentially,” and would struggle in more contested airspaces.
This is the real issue. Nobody loves the A-10 more than me (ok, maybe some people do, but I like it a lot), but times are changing. With more sophisticated surface-to-air threats being widely proliferated, it won't matter how well the A-10 is at CAS if it can't even get to the battlefield without being shot down.