Posted on 07/23/2022 9:41:46 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
“We can go on and one but it is clear, for CAS nothing beats the Hog.”
That was a very good, clear and concise rebuttal.
The Russians have lost at least nine of their version of the A-10 in battle and the Russians have been very circumspect in using any aircraft in the Ukrainian conflict. Whether their SU’s are as good as the A-10...probably not, but they are comparable. Of course, one data point on a graph where we don’t really know what the axes are isn’t much of a data point. You may be right in your assessment. Personally, I think the A-10’s mission should go to unmanned drones, but they have their own issues...mostly electronic counter measures which at the moment the Russians don’t seem to have any.
Here’s my fear. People tend to fall in love certain designs. I’ve seen people saying, gosh, just bring back the P-51 Mustangs, or battleships. I’ve seen some articles debunking the performance of the A-10’s in the Gulf War because the expectations were so high every tank killed was attributed to an A-10. Was this true? It would be hard to establish after the fact. But the true test is how would the A-10 do in a really high threat environment. It doesn’t matter if the plane brings back to pilot, in the greater scheme, if it is so damaged it can’t fly again.
The A-10 is a hugely competent design, no doubt. But I think what the Airforce wants to do is spend the two billion yearly dedicated to the A-10 on whatever the next generation will be. Who is the more correct? Only time and the next big engagement where the A-10 faces more ground threats will tell. As it appears we will be keeping the A-10 I certainly hope your assessment is the correct one.
Kind regards,
Gen.Blather
A lot of this battle damaged A-10’s get retired. Yes, the survive and most often bring their pilots home. But from a fleet perspective there just aren’t enough of them left. Get into a major fight and the fleet will collapse.
No other service wants to pick up the tab for the A-10 fleet. The USAF will have to decide when to retire them, and offering them up to Ukraine seems a gambit to do just that.
Not many get retired. Vey few can’t be repaired and mission ready.
And getting the pilot back is very important part of retention.. and we can’t easily lose pilots because it takes a lot of time and bucks to requal a pilot.
The Hog can get hit and repaired and back to mission-ready status faster than other is and this ensures numbers on the line. Cold War days, the A10 was an important part of tht major fight and was a significant force multiplier.
Fleet?. . .Navy?
Cost and training pipeline and logistics and support train is long and takes time (years).
And final, having studied the numbers and BD reports, it will last a lot longer than most other jets. Been to AMARC and dug through the historical documents and it is a very survival platform.
Thank you. Well stated and while we may disagree on the margins, all we can do now is argue the theoretical.
I ran across this and thought you might find it of interest. It deals with the A - 10.
Gen.Blather. aka Bern Pearson
Kind regards,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEQwlNeL0s
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.