H.R. 9780 — BRRRRT Act of 2026

This section prohibits the retirement, divestment, or storage of A-10 aircraft that would reduce the total inventory below levels needed to sustain operational employment, pilot production, operational test, and demonstration requirements through fiscal year 2033. It requires the Air Force to maintain at least 126 A-10 aircraft (or a higher number if determined appropriate) in fiscal year 2027 and each subsequent year, including a minimum of four active units or five total units with primary missions of close air support, forward air controller-airborne, and combat search and rescue support. It bars presumptive reductions in associated personnel, training, test, depot, or sustainment capacity and requires restoration of any such capacity reduced after October 1, 2025. The Secretary of Defense may waive these requirements only upon certifying that a fully capable replacement aircraft or system has achieved full operational capability, including mission performance, cost comparisons, and concurrence from the Secretary of the Army.

This section limits the obligation or expenditure of funds for A–10 divestment activities to 85 percent until the Secretary of the Air Force submits a sustainment roadmap and certification for fiscal years 2027 through 2033. It prohibits transitioning covered training from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base or reducing the A–10 weapons instructor course at Nellis Air Force Base absent specified certifications. It requires the Secretary to maintain sufficient training, depot maintenance, logistics, and other capacity to keep the A–10 fleet operationally viable through fiscal year 2033, including qualifying at least 14 pilots and 4 advanced instructors annually and preserving core training infrastructure at both bases.

This section requires the Secretary of the Air Force to reconstitute and operate an A-10 demonstration team drawn from existing inventory aircraft to support public outreach, recruiting, heritage preservation, and official events for the 250th anniversary of the United States. It terminates the authority on September 30, 2033, and directs a briefing to the congressional defense committees within 120 days on aircraft numbers, costs, schedule, basing, and sustainment needs.

This section directs the Secretary of the Air Force to develop a plan for competitive experimentation, prototyping, and operational assessment of autonomous, semi-autonomous, AI-enabled, and adjunct aircraft capabilities relevant to the A-10 mission set. The plan must include participation by nontraditional defense contractors and commercial firms, measures ensuring meaningful human command and control over target engagement and weapons release, an estimated annual budget, and consideration of providing a limited number of A-10 aircraft for research and development by qualified United States entities, with a report due to the congressional armed services committees within 180 days.

This section requires the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of the Air Force, the Commander of Air Combat Command, and the Commander of U.S. Central Command, to submit a report by January 15, 2027, to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on the A-10 aircraft’s combat employment from Operation Desert Storm through current operations. The report must address lessons learned on close air support, armed overwatch, combat search and rescue, air-ground integration, and personnel recovery; assess how those lessons should inform future force design, doctrine, training, and capability development; evaluate whether programmed Air Force systems can replicate A-10 effects; examine incremental modernization options; and recommend operational experimentation with A-10 units to test emerging technologies.

This section requires the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of the Air Force and the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and in consultation with the Secretary of State, to brief the congressional armed services committees by January 15, 2027, on the feasibility of transferring surplus A-10 aircraft to eligible foreign partners through foreign military sales or excess defense articles, or maintaining them in recoverable status for future security cooperation or contingency operations. The briefing must assess suitable partner nations, training and sustainment requirements, and export-control considerations.