Posted on 12/12/2013 3:48:56 PM PST by DemforBush
Washington (AFP) - Long disliked by the US Air Force, the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jet may finally be heading for the chopping block due to budget constraints...
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The air force is run by fighter pilots and they hate this plane. Its too low tech and cheap.
Its got to go because it instills terror in the terrorists and glee in the US infantryman. These two facts are not coincident with Obamas ROE.
“This is a plane for large land combat engagements and for the foreseeable future, you probably won’t face too many of those and there’s also the budget pressure.”
And there’s the rub. It’s a changing world, and you won’t see huge mass battles like you used to. That’s why our soldiers are being trained in localized urban environments - because terrorists aren’t found inside fortified military bases. They’re found in sleeper cells or metropolitan hubs.
Follow that argument and you don’t need any planes. Since the end of WWII the air force has gotten air superiority basically for free and only done close support. They like the fast pretty planes but they need close air support aircraft.
Five or six years ago I stayed at a hotel on the site of the old England AFB at Alexandria, LA. This was once a TAC base and now is the regional airport. There is a regular garden of Tactical aircraft on pylons at the entrance, and I was amazed to see an A-10 up there. I had no idea they were being retired. I guess sometimes they get grounded due to metal fatigue. Impressive to see one alongside the F-84F, F-86 and others of that generation.
Y'know ... every piece of equipment CAN NOT be multi-use, ambidextrous all around must have for your BOB.
SOME equipment is specialized, like matches ... they do ONE thing ... make fire.
I'm not AF and I'm too old to have ever been around an A-10 ... but I've seen enough youtube and weazlezipper clips to know the irreplaceable value of this plane
The last time they did this, it literally was “sniffle, the plane just isn’t pretty enough. Sniffle”
The brass went on to extoll...the F-16 as a “superior” aircraft for ground support.
“The Falcon is designed to avoid hits” was the smug claim at the time.
And if the Chinese invade America should the Warthogs stay home?
What are these fighter pilots you speak of. Airforce is moving towards being a platform for bomb delivery.
I’d let them decide what they need, personally.
First, never say never when it comes to war.
Next, the Warthog did not require "massed troops" to be a winner. All it required was a ground situation in need of air support.
The Chinese will be lucky to be able to find their way to the air strip. All we have to do is throw intellectual property at them ,a href=”http://io9.com/5859060/a-walking-tour-of-wonderland-chinas-eerie-abandoned-disneyland-rip+off";>they haven’t raped already</a> and they’ll stay home fore centuries.
Bad html. Erg.
Let the Grunts Decide its Future.
Muslims hate the A10.
Next question?
They are the guys looking to line up jobs with Lockheed after they retire.
Danged thing shot up the so called great Republican Guard like a turkey shoot. Worth its worth in the gulf war.
I explained to her what they were, what they did and that they usually work in pairs, when the second one flew over.
They were probably out of Moody.
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