Return of the Warthog: How the A-10 Is Foiling Houthi Missile Teams in the Middle East

After three years without a major combat deployment, one of America’s most iconic and rugged aircraft—the venerable A-10 Thunderbolt II, better known as the “Warthog”—is back in action in the Middle East. Its mission: to hunt and destroy elusive Houthi missile launchers before they can hide, turning the latest Iranian proxy tactics into textbook training evolutions for the U.S. Air Force and its allies.

Old Dog, New Tricks

First flying four decades ago, the A-10 is the definition of a military workhorse—famous for its durability, firepower, and close-air-support prowess. But its recent return to combat delivers more than simple nostalgia. On March 29, 2025, several A-10s from the Idaho-based 124th Fighter Wing touched down at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, joined by more than 300 ground crew from the 190th Fighter Squadron. The largest such deployment in years, it signals a shift in the ongoing conflict: American commanders are tapping the A-10’s unique skills to help the Navy contain a savvy, adaptive foe.

That foe—the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen—is waging a missile campaign against U.S. and allied targets. But as U.S. airpower intensifies, the Houthis have adopted nimble “shoot-and-scoot” tactics. They use commercial Starlink terminals and guidance from Iranian IRGC advisors to time missile launches, rolling armored trucks bearing C-802 cruise missiles from mountain caves, firing, then disappearing before a retaliatory strike can arrive. The C-802 may not be the world’s most advanced missile, but with enough launches and clever concealment, it poses a constant danger to military and civilian shipping.

A-10: Born for This Hunt

The job of neutralizing these highly mobile launch teams falls to the A-10—an aircraft built not for speed, but for persistence and lethality. Its mission starts with a scramble: once U.S. intelligence, aircraft, or satellites detect signs of launch activity, A-10s race to the area—often arriving within 18 minutes thanks to their enduring 11,000-pound fuel tanks. And with aerial refueling support from KC-135 Stratotankers, the “Warthogs” can loiter over danger zones for hours, waiting to pounce.

The business end of the A-10 is the stuff of legend. Its nose houses the GAU-8/A Avenger rotary cannon, a 19-foot-long behemoth firing 30mm depleted uranium rounds at a rate of 3,900 per minute. Each shell is nearly half a pound, designed to tear through tank armor—and more than enough to obliterate unarmored vehicles or exposed missile crews in seconds. Even with a modest ammo load of around 1,150 rounds, a one-second burst puts more than 60 baseball-sized projectiles into a target.

On April 1, the first strike of the deployment showed the power and precision of the Warthog. Airborne within minutes of receiving intelligence intercepts—provided in part by an RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft eavesdropping on unencrypted Houthi radio chatter—the A-10s arrived as Houthi gunners prepared to launch. There was no time for the missile crew to hide. The signature “BRRT” of the Avenger spelled the end for the launcher, its operators, and the hope of escape.

Finding the Needle in the Haystack

Locating camouflaged launchers hidden in Yemen’s mountains and deserts is no small task. The A-10s rely on the AN/AAQ-28 LITENING targeting pod, a nearly 440-pound suite of infrared sensors, cameras, and laser designators mounted under a wing. Pilots can spot vehicle-sized targets—and even lone figures—from miles away, differentiating between genuine threats and decoys.

Stealth, patience, and electronic warfare all come together on these operations. With Houthi forces forced onto unsecure civilian phones by previous U.S. cyber operations, American eavesdroppers can more easily tip off aircrews to imminent launches. Other U.S. assets, like the Navy’s EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, play a critical role by jamming Houthi radars, “blinding” them before an attack run. These Growlers use the next-generation jamming suite to confuse, locate, and even destroy enemy air defense radar systems, clearing the way for the A-10s to attack at low altitude with minimal risk.

“Show of Force” – A Different Kind of Attack

Sometimes, firepower isn’t enough—or isn’t appropriate. When Houthi missiles are hidden amid civilian neighborhoods, pilots may be ordered to stage a “show of force:” a low, threatening pass over potential launch sites, the Warthog bristling with six laser-guided AGM-65 Mavericks, a full drum of cannon rounds, and its fearsome profile. Even without firing, this maneuver often prompts enemy crews and bystanders to scatter, making a follow-on attack cleaner—and reducing the risk of collateral damage.

Smart Tactics, Real Results

By mid-April, the tempo of operations paid off. Houthi field communications grew more cautious; IRGC advisors, recognizing the threat of persistent close air support, reportedly went to ground or resorted to hard-wired fiber connections and redundant antenna relays to avoid U.S. monitoring. Yet even underground, the Houthis found little respite—A-10 pilots grew adept at spotting vehicle heat signatures and exhaust, tracking targets visually and with their sensors even as enemy crews tried to fool them with decoys.

On April 13, for example, a drone spotted Houthi crews setting up a C-802 launcher near an irrigation berm in Yemen’s Jawf province. An A-10, already circling nearby, closed in at treetop level, releasing two Mavericks to destroy the hiding launcher and radar before finishing the job with a cannon burst as the surviving crew tried to flee. For weeks, launch site activity dropped, and nervous Houthi units took to burying cables and hiding deeper.

The Warthog in Numbers: Impact and Debate

Between April 2 and April 17, A-10s flew 218 sorties without a single U.S. loss. They successfully destroyed at least 47 confirmed missile systems and eliminated nine senior Houthi commanders, according to U.S. Central Command. Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea fell by 70%, and tanker traffic through previously high-risk areas began to recover. It didn’t make headlines, but the combination of patience, precision, and raw firepower told its own story.

Yet even with these victories, the A-10’s future remains uncertain. The Air Force plans to retire the fleet by 2029—replacing it with faster, stealthier aircraft. But Navy and Marine commanders are lobbying to keep the Warthog flying, at least in roles like these where slow, persistent, and heavily armored attack planes remain unmatched.

Legacy

For now, the old “Warthog” proves indispensable, its mere presence sowing doubt and fear among enemy missile crews. To the Houthis, the telltale silhouette of the A-10 raises a stark question: is the flying tank just passing through the sky—or about to bring the fight to them, up-close and personal?

In a conflict of ever-evolving tactics and high-tech tools, the A-10 Warthog shows that sometimes, old dogs still offer the best bite.

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