Would the USAF do this or just eject as the safer, although more expensive
option?

- Michael

The A-10 was designed for ease of repair after a belly-landing. The wheels
stick out of the bottom of the gear pods, and differential braking is still
available.

When sitting on its belly, the GAU-8 (the 30mm cannon in the nose) is
protected from damage by having the bottom of the vertical stabs ground off
(the Hog becomes a tail-sitter with the gear still up) instead of the nose
digging in and taking the brunt of the damage. Hogs that have landed this
way have been lifted up with a crane, the gear pried down, bottoms of the
vertical stabs fixed and back into flying condition in no time.

Additionally, should only the nose gear come down, it is a better option to
actually land with the gear fully retracted. I think there are other
non-desirable landing configurations, but I don't have the checklist in
front of me right now.

In case you were wondering, belly landings with dual-engine flameout are not
recommended in the A-10, even though the jet has manual reversion flight
controls (necessary for control once the engine-driven hydraulic pumps are
not operating). The -1 says to get out of the jet and give it back to the
taxpayers if you can't get the motors restarted before the minimum
controlled (2,000' AGL) or uncontrolled (4,000' AGL) ejection altitudes. If
you pull the handles and the seat doesn't work, you have the rest of your
life to figure it out.