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Air Force Extends Use Of Iran Attack Plane A-10 'Warthog' To 2030
Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,
The U.S. Air Force said on April 20 that it would extend the life of the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft—commonly referred to as the “Warthog”—for another four years beyond its previously stated retirement deadline of 2026.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink wrote on X that following consultation with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the Air Force “will EXTEND the A-10 ‘Warthog’ platform to 2030,” adding that this decision “preserves combat power as the Defense Industrial Base works to increase combat aircraft production.”
The A-10 is being deployed in operations in Iran, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which said in a March 25 post on X that it had been used to strike Iranian naval vessels during Operation Epic Fury.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine previously revealed at a March 19 Pentagon news conference that the craft was “now in the fight across the southern flank and is hunting and killing fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz.”
According to an Air Force fact sheet, the Warthog was the first Air Force aircraft designed specifically to provide air support for ground forces. It can fly near combat areas for extended periods of time, and be used as an attack aircraft against ground targets, “including tanks and other armored vehicles.”
Former F-16 Thunderbird fighter pilot Ryan Bodenheimer, who runs the YouTube channel “Max Afterburner,” described A-10 in a March 15 video as “America’s flying tank.” He said it could be used to take down Shahed drones, as well as some of the fast-attack boats Iran still had in service at the time.
The Warthog is resilient, able to survive hits from armor-piercing and high-explosive projectiles up to 23mm, according to the Air Force.
However, they’re not invulnerable. On April 3, a pilot ejected from an A-10 after it was hit, with Iranian forces taking credit. The pilot parachuted to safety in Kuwait before the Warthog crashed.
Attempts to Retire the A-10Some in the Air Force said that the A-10, which first flew in 1976, is too old, too slow, and too expensive to maintain, prompting calls for its retirement to free up funds to develop modern defense solutions such as hypersonic weapons. But those opposed to the retirement say that cutting the fleet before there is a suitable replacement could leave ground troops without adequate air support.
In 2021, then-President Joe Biden wanted to retire dozens of the aircraft to free up resources for modernization, but Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.)—in whose state many of the craft are based—pushed back and secured language in defense legislation that blocked retirements.
Kelly argued that the aircraft should not be taken out of commission until a replacement is available.
That same year, Air Force Lt. Gen. David Nahom told a House of Representatives hearing that if the number of A-10s is not reduced, the Air Force will face a shortage of mechanics for newer planes.
An A-10 Thunderbolt II undergoes pre-flight inspections at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona on March 23, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jesse Shipps
The Warthog has some enthusiastic defenders outside the Pentagon.
Defense analyst Mike Fredenburg wrote in a March 24 opinion piece in The Epoch Times: “Despite Air Force claims that the A-10 has no place on the modern battlefield, a claim it has been making for decades, the A-10 is once again using its unmatched versatility and loitering capability to destroy fast-attack watercraft, drones, and enemy positions.
“And for the role it is performing in Operation Epic Fury, the Warthog is vastly superior to any F-35, F-15, F-16, or B-2, or even the most advanced drone in the U.S. arsenal.”
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Texas Instruments Jumps Most Since Dot-Com On Upgraded Outlook; Goldman Sees Analog Recovery
Shares of Texas Instruments jumped the most since the Dot-Com bubble era after the chipmaker issued a stronger-than-expected second-quarter forecast, signaling that demand is rebounding across industrial markets and data centers. Goldman analysts told clients the guidance suggests the "analog recovery is continuing."
Revenue guidance of $5 billion to $5.4 billion and profit guidance of $1.77 to $2.05 a share both came in well above the Bloomberg Consensus estimate of estimate $4.85 billion, while first-quarter results also beat expectations.
Here's a snapshot of first-quarter results (courtesy of Bloomberg):
EPS $1.68 vs. $1.28 y/y, estimate $1.38
Revenue $4.83 billion, +19% y/y, estimate $4.53 billion
- Analog revenue $3.92 billion, +22% y/y, estimate $3.68 billion
- Embedded processing revenue $723 million, +12% y/y, estimate $683 million
- Other revenue $178 million, -16% y/y, estimate $168.7 million
Operating profit $1.81 billion, +37% y/y, estimate $1.54 billion
Capital expenditure $676.0 million, -40% y/y, estimate $689.9 millio
Free cash flow $1.40 billion, estimate $1.2 billion
R&D expenses $510 million, -1.4% y/y, estimate $530.7 million
Cash and cash equivalents $3.55 billion, +28% y/y, estimate $3.25 billion
CEO Haviv Ilan told analysts on an earlier call that the resurgence in demand for industrial components was broad-based across all geographies and segments. He added that while the company's revenue remains below its previous peak, that's only spurring optimism that upside momentum will continue.
"There is a lot of room to grow," Ilan said. "I saw it across all sectors in industrial."
Institutional commentary from Goldman analyst James Schneider had some very positive takeaways from earnings:
Key stock takeaways: We expect the stock to trade higher following a quarter and guidance that came in well above the Street. We believe expectations were somewhat elevated given management's constructive commentary at recent conferences, and based on our conversations we believe most investors were positioned more constructively ahead of the quarter.
We see the strong recovery in the industrial end market as a particularly encouraging read-across for the sector. Although we continue to see a recovery across the analog sector (including for TI), we believe peers have managed their inventory levels far more proactively — and hence we believe gross margins are likely to recover much faster for peers (along with significant upward earnings revisions) than for TI.
We continue to have a preference for peers (including Microchip, NXP, and Analog Devices) who are likely to see greater upward earnings revisions in the near term, and we retain our relative Sell rating on TXN given the ongoing gross margin headwinds we expect in the coming quarters.
Schneider continued:
Read-through to our coverage: We expect a positive initial reaction for the analog group, with the most direct read-across for MCHP (Buy) and ADI (Buy) given their relatively high industrial exposures.
He raised Goldman's 12-month price target to $200 from the previous $175 and maintained a "sell" rating:
Here's what other institutional desks are saying:
Barclays (raised to equal-weight from underweight, PT to $250 from $175)
-
Upgrade reflects multiple quarters of growth in the company's Industrial business
-
While a lot seems baked into the stock, "Industrial exposure is the place to be in Analog today"
BofA Global Research (raised to buy from neutral, PT to $320 from $235)
-
Upgrades rating after solid 1Q earnings on "industrial strength, data center power content, and US-based manufacturing"
-
"Pricing has not been a factor, but could offer incremental good news in 2H which we conservatively model below seasonal trends"
Truist Securities (hold, PT $225)
-
The results show broad-based upside, including "strong cash flow performance"
-
"Capital allocation was constructive for equity"
-
The outlook is better than expected
Bloomberg Intelligence
- "Texas Instruments' 1Q results and 2Q outlook significantly beat consensus, solidifying a robust and broad recovery across its industrial markets, likely aided by new data-center sales"
Evercore ISI (outperform, PT to $316 from $270)
- The results were better than expected, while the outlook is "above seasonal"
Citi (buy, PT to $280 from $235)
- The results are strong, while the outlook is "well above seasonal"
Bloomberg Consensus Breakdown:
Traders rewarded Texas Instruments for its upgraded earnings outlook with buying panic mania on Thursday.
Shares in late-afternoon trading were up nearly 20%, the largest intraday move since the 24% gain on October 19, 2000.
Shares are in bluesky breakout territory:
Professional subscribers can read Goldman's TI takeaway here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal
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12 AGs Petition Court To Defend Trump's Executive Order On Citizenship Verification In Elections
Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times,
Attorneys general from a dozen states on April 20 asked to intervene in two lawsuits that oppose President Donald Trump’s executive order on citizenship verification and other election integrity efforts.
The coalition of attorneys general filed motions in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, expressing support for the president’s March 31 executive order, titled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.”
After Trump issued the order, “left-leaning activists and progressive states” immediately challenged it, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office said in a news release, “claiming it represents a federal intrusion on state authority over elections.”
She characterized Trump’s actions as “common-sense election integrity measures” in a statement and resolved to “defend every lawful step that promotes accurate [voter] rolls, secure absentee processes, and transparent administration.”
The president also issued a broader order in March 2025, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.”
Both election-related orders have spawned numerous courtroom battles.
On April 17, a federal judge in Rhode Island became at least the fifth to rule against the Trump’ administration’s voter-roll-collection attempts. Some states agreed to turn over the requested data, but the Trump administration sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for refusing to do so.
Trump’s 2026 order requires federal agencies to compile a state citizenship list to assist state election officials in confirming which people are U.S. citizens, over 18, and residents of the state—all mandatory to be eligible to vote.
The order also instructs the U.S. Postal Service to improve security of mail-in ballots, using means such as barcodes that allow tracking of official election mail.
“Missouri and the other states are fighting for access to these resources and to work alongside the federal government in guarding the integrity of American elections,” Hanaway wrote.
Attorneys general who joined Hanaway’s coalition hail from Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (L) and President Donald Trump before signing an executive order on election integrity in the Oval Office on March 31, 2026. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
The Washington lawsuit against Trump, filed on April 1 by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other Democrats, frames Trump’s order as another attempt to “rewrite election rules for his own perceived partisan advantage.”
The lawsuit also calls provisions of Trump’s order “convoluted and confusing,” adding, “What is clear is that it dramatically restricts the ability of Americans to vote by mail, impinging on traditional state authority.”
In a separate action filed in the District of Columbia court on April 21, a grassroots organization, Common Cause, is asking a judge to stop what it calls “an illegal and unprecedented quest to stockpile millions of Americans’ confidential voter data.”
Common Cause requested the court to “hold unlawful, stay, vacate, and set aside” the national Voter Registration Nationalization Policy and to prohibit the Justice Department from “unlawful disclosure and use” of voter data.
The Massachusetts lawsuit, filed April 2, alleges that Trump’s order “violates the constitutional separation of powers because the president doesn’t have authority to set election rules. Only the states and Congress may do so,” a news release from the Brennan Center for Justice says.
The Brennan Center’s attorneys worked with lawyers from other groups to file the federal complaint on behalf of the lead plaintiff, the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, and additional organizations.
Tyler Durden Thu, 04/23/2026 - 17:00