April 10, 2026

note: Regardless of the status of the war or ceasefire announced on April 8, President Trump has said U.S. force level will remain unchanged in the region for now.

The United States has acknowledged that A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft have flown into battle in the current war against Iran. The A-10s have reportedly been reconfigured for attacking Iranian speedboats and drones in the battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

They were also used for close air support during the April rescue of a downed F-15 fighter pilot, when one A-10 was lost to enemy fire and the pilot safely ejected over allies territory, according to multiple reports.

As described in ICBUW’s 2024 publication, Depleted Uranium Weapons and Platforms Worldwide, „The A-10 Thunderbolt (also called “Warthog”) is … designed for close air support of ground forces. It can be used against light maritime attack aircraft and all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles. … The main armament of the A-10 Thunderbolt is the GAU-8/A, a seven-barreled gatling cannon, capable of shooting both the PGU-14/B Armor Piercing Incendiary (API) DU [depleted uranium] Round and the PGU-13/B High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) round.”

Ammunition belts for the GAU-8/A may include either non-explosive targeting rounds, HEI rounds, or a mix of API and HEI rounds.

The Pentagon has routinely claimed that the radioactive API rounds are used only when the A-10s are engaging tanks or other armored vehicles. However it is documented that API was loaded and fired at many other un-armored targets in Iraq in 1991 and 2003, in the Balkans in 1999 and as recently as 2015 in Syria against unarmored ISIS vehicle convoys.

The A-10 Thunderbolt is likely responsible for the large majority of DU ammunition fired by U.S. forces in both the 1991 and 2003 Gulf Wars and the Balkans.

In 2021, as part of a policy to replace the DU rounds with a non-radioactive tungsten alternative, the Pentagon awarded a contract to demilitarize and dispose of remaining API stocks. This work was to be completed by November, 2026.

Together, these facts, punctuated by the violent rhetoric of the U.S. President and Secretary of Defense, leave open the possibility that remaining API stocks are still available for use by the A-10, whether engaging armor or making certain that speedboats and drones are destroyed.

The addition of depleted uranium, a known chemical and radiological toxin, to the massive petrochemical pollution of the waters and land of the Persian Gulf region due to this war would be an added assault on the natural environment as much as on the people of Iran and beyond.

ICBUW has asked U.S. authorities to confirm or deny the use of API ammunition by the A-10s now deployed, but has received no reply.

ICBUW welcomes more information from independent researchers that might either confirm or deny the current availability of API ammunition for the A-10 and its use against Iran.

Jack Cohen-Joppa, ICBUW Steering Group