[ClearCase_guy]

The Air Force has been opposed to the A-10 since about 1975.

[nickedknack]

The Air Force has hated the close air support mission from the start, and compared to the Marines, they’ve pretty much sucked at it. My father was a WWII Pacific Theater Army combat veteran, and he said the Army Air Forces (and the Navy) provided lousy CAS to his division. The Marines did it right, and they loved them for it. I’m former Navy Air, and admit we’ve not done it well, either.

[Lurkinanloomin]

Correct, the Air Force has never wanted it because it is slow and ugly and one of the best ground support aircraft ever made, something the Air Force has little interest in.

[DakotaGator]

The Air Force is run by fighter pilots. And fighter pilots of every service hate the A-10...because it's not a fighter. Everyone else loves it because it does the job it was designed for.

Always be suspicious when the fighter community tells you attack aircraft are unnecessary because an F-whatever can do the job. It just ain't so. You always need a mix of capabilities.

[Uncle Sam 911]

But they wont give it to the Army where it belongs.

[RinaseaofDs]

I would think the next announcement is that the aircraft gets transferred to the Marines and Army, each getting a variant.

[trebb]

I guess one would have to define "the Air Force".

Those who worked with/flew them loved them for the incredibly capable machines they are. Friends who were in Desert Storm had nothing but praise for the job they did to clear out tanks and other artillery.