Posted on 07/13/2016 7:37:36 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Oh yeah! Tucson - great place for pilots to gain experience patrolling the border.
Air Force generals will always opt for bombers and dogfight fighters over close air support because they love the publicity that those planes (and coincidently their pilots) get.
But the A-10 guys love their work of supporting the troops on the ground when they are needed and the troops love them back.
I don’t know if more improvements can be made on the current Warthog, but improvements would probably be more cost efficient than a whole new plane. Not to mention that a new plane would give the AF generals more money to fool around with in their budget.
If it ain’t broke, don’t scrap it. Use it.
You forgot the Laser on the nose.
Okay if you want to take the German side of things. I was talking about the original American forces tank buster.
I know the F-22 tooling was scrapped
Super Warthog
...and that hawg eats corn through a picket fence.
I first saw the A-10 as a young LCpl during a Gallant Eagle Exercise in Twentynine Palms in the 80’s. Even though I was a Motor T POG I understood what this aircraft brought to the battle field. There is no other platform that can perform CAS as effectively as the A-10. The AV8B Harrier is pretty damn good but it doesn’t come close to the Warthog.
Just as there will always be a need for analog devices in certain applications, the A-10 will always outperform its flashier brothers in its assigned role, close air support of ground troops.
The official name is Thunderbolt II, not warthog.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.