Posted on 06/25/2015 5:15:41 PM PDT by ryan71
The long-range plans of the Air Force and the Pentagon to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt took another hit Thursday from a non-partisan government report questioning Air Force projections on the savings from mothballing the fleet.
The Air Force estimate of $4.2 billion in savings over five years was unreliable and "may overstate or -understate the actual figure," the Government Accountability Office said in a preliminary report to Congress on the decision to retire the fleet.
Air Force leaders have said the service must retire the A-10 due to budget cuts in order to pay for the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh has told Congress the A-10 is not flexible enough and the service can depend on a mix of other aircraft like the B-1, F-16 and F-15 to fulfill the close air support mission.
The report, which was released Thursday, questioned the methods used by the Air Force to determine that retiring the A-10 and giving its close air support mission to other aircraft was cost efficient and would not detract from the vital role of protecting ground troops. Congress has continued to fund the A-10 with annual appropriations over the objections of the Air Force and the Defense Department.
Congress asked the GAO last year to study the Air Force's decision to retire the A-10. Findings throughout the report question and outright reject the service's case to send the revered close air support aircraft to the boneyard.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
The A-10 still has its place, just like the B-52. Good for the GAO but since when does Team Odungo care what the experts tell them?
IOW, the A-10 kills the enemy too well and saves Christians in a time where pretzel logic prevails.
I can’t believe they ever built it in the first place and I can’t believe it survived this long. Someone way, way above my paygrade must be watching over this remarkable airplane that saves the lives of groundpounders.
Oddly, I think the loud turret belch the A-10 makes sends the enemy running. What other aircraft has such powerful psychological impact?
HOG Drivers Rule!!
Cost of 1 F 35 = Savings of 100 A 10
There you have it.
AF still considers ground support as its low priority step child.
Active Duty ping.
The F35 fiasco continues to suck the life out of everything around it.
JU-87.
The “ Air Force” that wants to end the A-10 is a bunch of obama’s civilian islamist radicals that are in a position of power in the Pentagon.
whoa. actual good news. amazing
Keep the A-10. Cut the F-35.
Problem solved.
Thank goodness. Those planes would be very effective to wipe out the remnant population of white men.
I wouldn’t mind seeing one strafe Capitol Hill.
AF can’t even keep their drones manned; what gives them cred to say they’ll do CAS?
Its not just the relative cost of the aircraft. Its maintaining a fleet of aging aircraft and a stream of pilots trained in the type. Add to that the increase in effectiveness of MANPADS and the USAF doesn’t think any aircraft can survive at low levels....
Not saying I buy any of this but that’s closer to the complete argument for retirement of the Hog.
Stuka? I’m in the here and now.
One F15 or F16 downed while conducting low=level ground support ops will wipe out any savings gained from shelving the flying tanks of the A10’s.
This AF leader is crazy as crap and should be stripped of a star and kicked out of the service.
Oh, sorry, Hap, you’re not in charge anymore, nor is your spirit.
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