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Started By
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re: USAF plans to retire more A-10 Warthogs; “crippling” close air support capabilities
Posted on 3/19/24 at 9:51 am to HenryParsons
Posted on 3/19/24 at 9:51 am to HenryParsons
quote:
"If successful, this plan would kill the CAS profession and cripple America's CAS capability," the group wrote on its website. "Ground troops would be supported, if at all, by CAS amateurs in a small, expensive fleet of fragile aircraft that are far less effective. In low-intensity conflict, that will cost lives."
All part of the plan.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 9:52 am to HenryParsons
Posted on 3/19/24 at 9:55 am to Sasquatch Smash
It's 100% a shot at the F-35. Soldiers love the A-10 and the moral boost / effective way they roll in and dominate.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 9:57 am to HenryParsons
drones are cheaper and no pilot at risk
Posted on 3/19/24 at 10:02 am to HenryParsons
But we gave all that money to fund Ukrainian pensions....
Posted on 3/19/24 at 10:05 am to PureBlood
Give them to the Air National Guard and have those war birds flying patrol along the southern border. If we were serious about border security that would shut it down.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 10:15 am to HenryParsons
(Given the updated revelations on the subversive agenda of the Empire)
Does it seem what's being "retired" are legendary Death Machines which had no legit reasons to begin with in conducting their "business" against sovereign nations & peoples defending themselves?
Does it seem what's being "retired" are legendary Death Machines which had no legit reasons to begin with in conducting their "business" against sovereign nations & peoples defending themselves?
Posted on 3/19/24 at 10:19 am to Boudreaux35
It's a beautiful plane. Probably one of the most iconic and beloved. But truly its time is passing. They can use drones to do this same job without putting a pilot close to the ground at risk for anti air fire.
In fact, I suspect they'll start using drones for a ton of these operations.
In fact, I suspect they'll start using drones for a ton of these operations.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 10:20 am to TygerTyger
quote:
Give them to the Air National Guard and have those war birds flying patrol along the southern border. If we were serious about border security that would shut it down.
Yes. In a rational, righteous universe.
In our irrational upside down universe, Military-Age Male Illegals = GOOD, US Citizens & Vets = BAD.
A-10 Warthogs next possible "mission": Patrolling domestic FEMA Camp extended perimeters.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 10:45 am to jcaz
quote:
am a yuge warthog fan but the time is coming. These airframes are old and the mission set is not needed as much since we are now transitioning back to Great Power Competition. In a modern conflict with China or Russia the A-10 would not have good survivability odds.
CAS relies on air superiority.
We would arguably achieve that with the current assortment of fighters.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 11:09 am to HenryParsons
This is great; as soon as the USAF retires then, the Army is going to buy them all and bring fixed wing CAS back to Army doctrine.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 11:11 am to bad93ex
quote:
My guess is that they’re not making enough money off of these planes.
It’s not an issue of money. The Air Force has never cared about the close air support mission. They didn’t want want the A-10 in the first place and immediately tried to kill it as soon as it was in service. The Fighter Mafia runs USAF, and Mud Movers are unsexy and beneath them. This is why the answer to everything in USAF is “More F-35’s”.
The Army needs to withdraw from the Key West Accords, and get back into the fixed wing combat business. They’re simply never going to be a priority to the Air Force.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 11:56 am to GeauxxxTigers23
quote:
The A-10 is cool as shite but it's time came and went a long time ago. Look at Ukraine, which is the exact fight the Warthog was built for, it wouldn't last five minutes in that airspace.
While the airspace is indeed contested, there have been many successful Frogfoot sorties in areas with a lower anti-air presence.
If we were to use the A-10 in modern times we'd have to soften the air defenses with wild weasles first and use the A-10 to support the ground invasion and take out enemy armor/artillery
Posted on 3/19/24 at 11:58 am to HenryParsons
Move them over to border patrol.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 12:03 pm to HenryParsons
The last A-10 rolled off the line in 1984...so the newest of these planes turns 40 this year. It seems like the best plan would be to start making some more of these (with updates) to replace those put to pasture...
Posted on 3/19/24 at 12:25 pm to brass2mouth
quote:
CAS relies on air superiority. We would arguably achieve that with the current assortment of fighters.
My question is accepting that CAS is not possible until local ADS and airspace are controlled, why would you not want these available for use as soon as superiority is achieved?
Unless the drones and attack helicopters are so pervasive that they are redundant and unnecessary I don’t understand mothballing the platform (not that this is that *yet*).
Personally I think that even next gen fighters will become unsurvivable over enemy territory against a China level threat and that missile and drone swarms controlled by AI and remote operators will be the obvious path after the first month or two of a major conflict between the US and China occurs.
Of course I don’t think we have the logistical infrastructure to support that fight for a year even setting aside the a symmetric and Chinese insurgent cells they have ready to activate against us domestically but that’s an entirely separate discussion.
This post was edited on 3/19/24 at 12:30 pm
Posted on 3/19/24 at 12:36 pm to tide06
CAS is a thing of the past in a conventional conflict anyway. With things like switchblade and ultra accurate artillery, mortars and HIMARS type system it really doesn't make sense to use a manned aircraft. Surface based fires and more responsive, reliable and economical both from a monetary and logistics standpoint.
Posted on 3/19/24 at 12:50 pm to Proximo
Are they going to donate them to the Taliban?
---They did, when we bugged out of Afghanistan
---They did, when we bugged out of Afghanistan
Posted on 3/19/24 at 1:02 pm to Proximo
Give then to the Ukrainians would be perfect for that conflict
Posted on 3/19/24 at 1:05 pm to HenryParsons
quote:
Shame to see a legend moving into retirement.
It’s getting close to time on the airframes.
What’s a bigger shame is that we didn’t continue to update the design and produce more or them via new variants, or develop a true fixed-wing replacement.
quote:
A portion of these should be reallocated to the Coast Guard for counter-trafficking operations.
Hell, sell them to Mexico and Colombia.
This post was edited on 3/19/24 at 1:09 pm
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