April 16,2008: The oldest A-10 ("Warthog" or "Hog") aircraft in service is now flying combat missions in Afghanistan. Aircraft V281 was manufactured in 1982, and has been flying training and combat missions ever since. The aircraft has over 7,000 hours in the air. The designed life of the A-10 was 8,000 hours. Upgrading A-10s to A-10Cs (rebuilding airframe and adding all the spiffy electronics current jet fighters have) extends this to 16,000 hours. The A-10 was designed for ease of maintenance, and the airmen that take care of A-10s find it to be the easiest combat aircraft to deal with.