The Air Force didn’t help its long-standing argument that the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet should be retired when the service announced this week it would deploy more of the aircraft to Europe this fall.

The 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia announced it will send 12 attack planes and crews to Central and Eastern European to bolster NATO’s “Operation Atlantic Resolve,” an ongoing show of military might meant to deter Russian aggression in the region.