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Air Force, Pentagon Have More Work to Do Before Ditching the A-10, Watchdog Says

Rogue Valley

Rogue Valley

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Air Force, Pentagon Have More Work to Do Before Ditching the A-10, Watchdog Says


Losing the aircraft would also mean a loss of U.S. combat search-and-rescue capabilities, the Government Accountability Office said in a newly declassified report....


defense-large.jpg



I realize the brass likes shiny new toys, but why the USAF wants to terminate an armored platform that is extremely deadly and inexpensive to operate is beyond me.
 
Simpleχity;1066245109 said:
I realize the brass likes shiny new toys, but why the USAF wants to terminate an armored platform that is extremely deadly and inexpensive to operate is beyond me.
Click to expand...


Because the A-10 is old. I love it just as much as the next guy, but there's no denying that the A-10 has survived in part for this long because it never had to actually operate in it's intended environment; whittling down vast armored formations, like the ones expected to be featured by the Soviet Army, where Soviet AAA would've torn it apart.

Instead, the A-10 has been largely relegated to combating insurgencies where it faces very little threat of anti-air assets, rendering it largely invulnerable save for lucky hits. However while MANPADS, ADA and SAMS have all improved and advanced in capabilities, the A-10 has not.
 
If you ask the grunts, I'm fairly sure they'll tell you they want either a Warthog or an AC-130 gunship overhead doing CAS.
 
Jredbaron96 said:
Because the A-10 is old. I love it just as much as the next guy, but there's no denying that the A-10 has survived in part for this long because it never had to actually operate in it's intended environment; whittling down vast armored formations, like the ones expected to be featured by the Soviet Army, where Soviet AAA would've torn it apart.

Instead, the A-10 has been largely relegated to combating insurgencies where it faces very little threat of anti-air assets, rendering it largely invulnerable save for lucky hits. However while MANPADS, ADA and SAMS have all improved and advanced in capabilities, the A-10 has not.
Click to expand...

Just find a replacement that is as cost effective and can still be combat effective after taking this kid of damage:
the-plane-built-around-one-gun-237.jpg
 
Jredbaron96 said:
Because the A-10 is old. I love it just as much as the next guy, but there's no denying that the A-10 has survived in part for this long because it never had to actually operate in it's intended environment; whittling down vast armored formations, like the ones expected to be featured by the Soviet Army, where Soviet AAA would've torn it apart.

Instead, the A-10 has been largely relegated to combating insurgencies where it faces very little threat of anti-air assets, rendering it largely invulnerable save for lucky hits. However while MANPADS, ADA and SAMS have all improved and advanced in capabilities, the A-10 has not.
Click to expand...

Can't the Air Force announce a competition for designing a aircraft that is in essence a overhauled Warthog
Like how The f4f wildcat was replaced by F6f Hellcat?
 
faithful_servant said:
Just find a replacement that is as cost effective and can still be combat effective after taking this kid of damage:
View attachment 67206404
Click to expand...

That kind of damage was dealt by incompetent Iraqi air defense crews who worked for an army that was so hilariously inept they would've lost to the Germans in 1941. The idea is for planes not to take this kind of damage in the first place; repairing aircraft is expensive and modern anti-air weapons are only growing more and more lethal. Pics like those may be cool to look at an inspire awe, but what they really represent is a case of luck and good fortune on the part of the crew. Against a modern, capable enemy (like the ones the A-10 was expected to fight), these pics would actually be a welcome sight, since at least the crew made it home.
 
The B52 is older.....
age alone is no excuse for replacing effective hardware.
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
Can't the Air Force announce a competition for designing a aircraft that is in essence a overhauled Warthog
Like how The f4f wildcat was replaced by F6f Hellcat?
Click to expand...

They could, however the air force seems to be more focused on adapting existing platforms and concepts to fit into new roles.
 
Simpleχity;1066245109 said:
Air Force, Pentagon Have More Work to Do Before Ditching the A-10, Watchdog Says


Losing the aircraft would also mean a loss of U.S. combat search-and-rescue capabilities, the Government Accountability Office said in a newly declassified report....


defense-large.jpg



I realize the brass likes shiny new toys, but why the USAF wants to terminate an armored platform that is extremely deadly and inexpensive to operate is beyond me.
Click to expand...

The airforce wanted to end the a10 after it was launched, infact the were ready to end the a10 right before the gulf war before it was even battle tested, and they later retracted when it kicked ass and took names in the gulf war. Since then they have made numerous attemps each time the a10 ends up being unreplacable.

this will remain such until we get a new dedicated cas fighter, and none of the other jets even come close on cas.
 
Simpleχity;1066246541 said:
If you ask the grunts, I'm fairly sure they'll tell you they want either a Warthog or an AC-130 gunship overhead doing CAS.
Click to expand...

One of the more "jumpy" dialogs is that between the Army, Navy, Air Force. It has been my experience that the armed services would rather rely on their own kind. The Army would first ask for an Apache as they are almost always forward and can get there for CAS pretty quick.
 
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