February 25 · Edited TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today that he is recommending the elimination of the A-10, the mainstay aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, as part of a proposed military budget. The Air Force has said it would save $3.5 billion over five years by cutting the entire fleet of 343 A-10s.
Too bad the grunts don’t get a say in the matter.
Don’t worry. Those funds are needed to bus in diseased, third world parasites and charge their welfare/benefits cards, phones, and vehicles. /sarc
Disgraceful - but predictable.
How ironic that in Iraq they could be a game changer right now.
It’s the tanker and grunt’s best friend. The Air Force has always hated it.
Hopefully saner heads will prevail and funding will be restored in the final budget. But if they really want to piss the AF off, transfer all of the A-10s to the Army.
Active Duty A-10 ping.
In terms of effective pinpoint delivery of firepower and support of troops on the ground, the A 10 will never have an equal.
I will never understand why the Air Force has hated it so.
Obumblingidiot will waste no time sending these vital aircraft to the grinder. In a year, there won’t even be one in a museum.
The real secret to the A-10 is its engine. If a friendly country could get high quality engines, it could produce a whole bunch of A-10s for profitable sale, based on its reputation.
While they always tout its advanced electronics, the truth of the matter is that it is designed for a slug-fest, where high tech is sort of incidental. Most systems in the aircraft are redundant, which explains how they could have damage like none other and still return home. Even their pilots are sitting in a “titanium bathtub”, to protect them.
The reason for this is because much of the design inspiration came via the astounding Nazi pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel, who wrote a book called Stuka Pilot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Ulrich_Rudel
Rudel flew 3,530 combat missions claiming a total of 2,000 targets destroyed; including 800 vehicles, 519 tanks, 150 artillery pieces, 70 landing craft, nine aircraft, four armored trains, several bridges, a destroyer, two cruisers, and the Soviet battleship Marat.
He knew what he was doing. His wish list was incorporated into the A-10, and then some. And then the aircraft was built around the 30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling-type cannon, a very formidable weapon.
Yet, all told, if they could just get good engines, many countries could produce the A-10, and they could make a ton of money exporting them for sale.
Replacements for the A-10 are smaller and more efficient smart weapons across all platforms and the F-35, neither of which are in the inventory yet and show no signs of getting there in the known future.
Well, can’t blame Obama...
P-47, then A1-E, then A-10. There’s always been a need for a dedicated CAS/Ground Attack platform since the advent of airpower. Big mistake to take the A-10 out of the inventory, unless you are a defense contractor with a similar platform ready to be pitched to take its place- then, it’s a financial boom.
I know that legend has it that the USAF never liked the A-10 and that fighter pilots hate it.
In my nearly 30 years of service, I never found that to be the case...at least from O-5 and below.
At UPT, half the class starts out wanting to fly A-10s.
Well, we do have the B-1 fleet for the CAS mission. What’s a little collateral damage amongst friends? /MournfulSarc
However, The USAF has really despised this low, slow workhorse from its first days as not fitting in with the Mach 2.5 air superiority fighter Top Gun image. They couldn't wait to transfer it to Guard units!
It is incredibly good at what it does. It is primarily a daylight operator, though, and it is 40 years old with no assembly line, so maintenance becomes increasingly crucial. What it needs is a replacement that specializes in the same job of anti-armor and close support of ground forces. Perhaps just a re-design. This is one fabulous airplane
The idea of using the B1-B ... which is also an ancient design ... for close support is simply ludicrous. Think WWII. The Tank Busters were the Bristol Beaufort and the Typhoon, not the B-17 or B-24!
I hate to see these aircraft go to the boneyard. They are simply one of the very best aircraft ever flown.
Stupid
Stupid
Stupid