“I’ve never met [or even heard of] an infantryman who, having called for CAS, was disappointed that it was an A-10. “
What about the AC130’s? I would think they would do a better job than an F16 in CAS.
“What about the AC130’s? I would think they would do a better job than an F16 in CAS.”
They are an excellent tool in a permissive air defense environment, but they are too vulnerable to ADA, SAM, and enemy air interceptors where such threats pose a substantial risk. The smaller size, higher speeds, and greater maneuverability of the A-10 is substantially more appropriate for dealing with such threats.
I think the AC130 has a much slower stall-speed than the F-16. (Can’t find the actual numbers for it.)
So that would be a point in its favor.
The real problem though is that there’s absolutely nothing like the A-10 that’s as good for CAS.
The next best thing would probably be helicopters and they’re quite a bit more “fragile” than the A-10.
(One of the big problems with the higher-ups, IIUC, is that they think that CAS can be done by flying really fast, and really high, and dropping a “sufficiently smart” bomb. What this view utterly neglects is the value of being able to “loiter” in the area and respond dynamically to situations as they change/occur — because the Air Support is already there it can respond nearly instantly instead of having to launch, travel, engage.)