Second A-10 unit deployed in ISIS fight

The Hill ^ | April 23, 2015 | Kristina Wong

[C19fan]

A dozen A-10 attack jets have been deployed to the Middle East in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Air Force announced this week.

The deployment of 350 airmen and the 12 "Warthogs" come as Congress and the Pentagon battle over whether to retire the popular aircraft, which provides close air support for troops in combat.

This is the second deployment of an A-10 unit in the fight against ISIS. Air Force leaders say the service can't afford to maintain the attack jet under defense budget constraints and that other aircraft can conduct the close air support mission.

[C19fan]

But but..I thought the Air Force says it can't afford the A-10 because that bottomless pit that is the F-35. The A-10 is ideal for this environment. Bring the rain!

[lulu16]

I’m in the Tucson area. Remember the mission! Keep those lobbyist out of the war room.

[HLPhat]

>>can’t afford the A-10 because that bottomless pit
>>that is the F-35.

When it comes down to a choice between “jobs” and not being overrun by insane knife-wielding religious fanatics... “jobs” comes out on the bottom every time.

>>Bring the rain!

Amen.

[oldtech]

No matter what aircraft they decide to use,it will cost to support it. Why not support one that works.....like the A-10? Too many crooked politicians & lobbyists involved in this mess & not enough real warriors.

[I cannot think of a name]

“Second A-10 unit deployed in ISIS fight”

More work for the airplane “we don’t need.”

Is there any arm of the Federal Government that still functions worth a dam? Probably not.

[meatloaf]

Give the A10s to the Marines. I wonder if they could be modified for carrier landings and takeoffs. :-)

[Yo-Yo]

But but..I thought the Air Force says it can't afford the A-10 because that bottomless pit that is the F-35.

The Air Force did the same thing with the EF-111A supersonic jammer aircraft. It had the avionics suite of the Navy's EA-6B Prowler, but in a package that could dash at Mach 1.5+ and lead a strike package.

The Air Force retired all of the F-111s in order to "afford" the F-22, but in the end Congress only funded 187 F-22s anyway.

Those same F-22s and F-35s could now use an escort jammer to help with penetration into denied access areas. There are ways to detect "stealth" aircraft, but with the added complexity of effective jamming it gets much more difficult.

[AFreeBird]

It probably could, but very expensive.

Front gear is offset.
Rear gear is wing mounted, not fuselage.

You’d have to beef up the entire fuselage and wing root out to the gear.

Then you have to fold or swing the outer wing for storage.

Don’t see it happening.

You’d be better off with a new design from the ground up, and I don’t see that happening either.

[hoosierham]

There will never be one tool that does all jobs well.But there are lots of tools that do all jobs equally poorly.Super fighters for keeping the air safe for the ground support craft to pound the enemy in detail-THAT is a winning combo.

[meatloaf]

Thanks for the insight. Still would be better to give them to the Marines or Army.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for posting this. Again we have a semi mystery where libs and their thugs are involved.

This is just another example of the two critical ways we need to look at anything liberals are involved in:

1. Cui Bono or who benefits ,when bs surrounds and covers up or shrouds their overt or covert actions with any activity with libs in control of where money and power can be gained.

2. Follow the money after #1.

[Zenjitsuman]

Sell the A10 to Israel, they can use them against Ham@ss and Hezzbollah.

[jjotto]

Israel turned them down years ago. Too specialized.