Makes sense. Even though it is heavily armored, it’s not survivable against anybody with modern air defense.
Nothing is survivable against modern air defense. It’s the tactics of how to employ and operate the system.
I’m glad, although I don’t think it should be a reason, that it doesn’t scare them (which I think is conjecture-have you ever heard that darn cannon squeeze off a few rounds?!). All the more surprising when they blow everything away in short order.
“Makes sense. Even though it is heavily armored, it’s not survivable against anybody with modern air defense.”
Perhaps, just pisses me off when we have no successor and we’re heading into war with Russia and China. Perhaps waiting a year or so to bitch about the A-10s wouldn’t make us look quite as incompetent.
Perhaps not on day one.
How about six months in after everyone's best has been attrited and production of replacement aircraft are years away?
And can't A-10s drop glide bombs from many miles away from air defenses?
The A-10 bomb trucks are paid for and ready to do. What the Air Force generals want is to spend billions for just a few new shiny airplanes.
We really need both.
We just spent an entire generation fighting wars against adversaries without modern air defense, we are still sticking troops in Syria, East Africa and all sorts of other places that don't have modern air defense, the Russians are finally mobilizing the tanks the A10s were designed to kill, and our biggest territorial threat (mexican cartels) also don't have a modern air defense.
Isn’t AF doctrine - Use Stealth, Cruse Missiles, and whatever else they have to destroy Modern air defenses first? Then send in everything else to take out the tanks and infantry. Sure infantry have Manpads but the A-10 was designed to survive them.
It would work great defending the border, or an invasion on the shore. See if that scares you Dinks, use them about Midnight on May 1, and keep out all comers?
They want to get rid of them, because they are paid for and don’t get Generals great jobs in the War machine after retirement. Every grunt I ever knew, loved them and isn’t the militaries main mission to defend the US of A? Not to project power around the world?