End looms for US Air Force's 'Warthog' ground-attack jet

AFP ^ | 12/12/13 | Mathieu Rabechault

[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...

[DemforBush]

Darn good plane. And I don't care what anyone else says, I think it's a beautiful design.

[InsidiousMongo]

The A-10 eats the budget? Give me a break. What are they going to replace it with, the F-35 just like people were suggesting before? Apples and Oranges.

Cutting the Warthog is a HUGE mistake. No plane built today is as tough and can fly low and slow like the A-10, while still returning from a mission.

[Frapster]

Reminds me of that female warthog pilot in Iraq. Came back with amazing damage.

[SVTCobra03]

Allow the Army to have fixed wing aircraft and give it to them. Grunts love the Warthog.

[tet68]

Big mistake, in my opinion.
Insanity in fact.
Grunts are going to pay with their lives for this.

[Theoria]

A trusty aircraft. We will need more like it against the Cylon.

[spawn44]

The only one’s who disliked this plane were on the other end of those Gatling gun cannons. I don't believe the air force disliked this plane.

[Sir Napsalot]

Because the military brass don’t see the need for future troops ground support?

A-10 did the heavy lifting, a reliable vehicle for the purpose it was designed for.

[GreyFriar]

Warthog bye-bye ping

[ought-six]

The A-10 is a great airplane! What the hell is this government thinking?

Oh, that’s right: Our present government dislikes the United States, and desires to see it harmed.

[LeoWindhorse]

first the Raptor , nor the Warthog

They should leave the final call on things like this t those that fly them , not the budget minded pencil pushers .

See the PRC/NK on the horizon always

[billorites]

What sort of officer would be caught dead flying such an ugly airplane?

This is an airplane more fit for soldiers.

[arderkrag]

"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.



(Of course, the tinfoil hatters around here are convinced it's all a vicious plot to push us to an authoritarian dystopia, but that's another story.)

[fso301]

The A-10 was declared obsolete before the end of the cold war.

The A-10 was declared obsolete after Desert Storm.

The A-10 is once again being declared obsolete.

[Iron Munro]

No plane built today is as tough and can fly low and slow like the A-10, while still returning from a mission.

Exactly why the Air Force Big-Wigs don't like it.

Too slow, and not glamorous enough.

Plus, it doesn't cost enpugh so there is little room fo payoffs and kickbacks.

[thorvaldr]

Stupid is as stupid does

[MrEdd]

Now there is a stupid statement worthy in every way of Ambrose Everett Burnside’s military accumen.

We are not seeing mass battles because at the moment the superpowers can quash them with weapons systems like these. Disarming for large scale battles makes them viable for one’s opponent again.

[TADSLOS]

Allow the Army to have fixed wing aircraft and give it to them. Grunts love the Warthog.

I'll second that. They are a thing of terrifying beauty.

[llevrok]

ditto for the Marines. It’s their kind of plane.

That will let the AF have more time to play golf while their f35’s are high priced hanger queens.

[central_va]

We always ditch the weapons our enemy fears the most.