Posted on 01/26/2018 8:58:53 PM PST by Leaning Right
The much-maligned A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack airplane could prove to be a savior if fighting breaks out with North Korea. However, the US Air Force wants to get rid of the plane, and is not asking for funds to fix the wings on some 100 A-10s, which therefore may end up in the scrap yard.
(Excerpt) Read more at atimes.com ...
Only "speed freaks" don't appreciate the sheer amount of whoop-ass that the Warthog can deliver.
If war is the process of killing people and breaking things, the A-10 is the instrument that does the killing.
Much-maligned by military hating liberals.
I think that may be why McCain doesn’t like the plane...
Somehow I don’t see “any war” with NK as being a tank-killing and anti-materiel type of exercise but I am not an expert in these things.
Yes, there are lots of artillery tubes clustered around the border but they are probably well hidden.
I would imagine that NK has good numbers of older AA guns and those could chew up A-10s pretty well.
If the Air Farce doesn’t want them, give them to the Marine Corps or the Army.
If the Air Force can’t be bothered with it, the Marines would love to have the A-10.
Give them to the Army if the Air Force won’t fly them.
A bit faster than half a minute...
Korea is steep hills, scrub foliage, limited square miles and a super dense metropolis just miles from the DMZ. The A-10, without dispute, is the perfect CAS platform, but it would have limits in that terrain.
Granted all I’ve ever seen of the A-10 is from watching TV programs about it, but all I’ve ever seen about it was that it was built to be extremely practical and tough. It can run on one engine if the other gets blown off, it has manual control of flaps and ailerons in case electronic control gets severed. It’s ugly, and it does what it’s designed to do, air-to-ground combat, extremely well. That’s what they’ve all said.
It also looks like it would be one of the cheapest planes to maintain and fix because of that practical design. It seems like it would be a relative bargain to keep those planes ready to go, regardless of the nature of current perceived threats. Meanwhile, how many countless billions and billions of dollars have been spent trying to create the next generation of super-stealth fighter jet and how much does one of those cost? Probably one of them costs more than all the repairs on the 100 A-10s mentioned combined.
I don’t know if it’s a key component in the attack against North Korea or not, but it sure doesn’t seem like something worth scrapping even if it doesn’t get used.
You kidding? That kind of terrain is the bread and butter of the Warthog. It thrives in low and slow, hiding in valleys, popping in and out of hills and mountains, etc.
I was on active duty just before the A-10 was introduced. It was the answer to our prayers. The pilots, men or women, have iron balls. I want them at our troops’ back.
“I would imagine that NK has good numbers of older AA guns and those could chew up A-10s pretty well.”
Like when the Stuka was withdrawn during the Battle of Britain, we will know the moment the A-10 has outlived it’s times. It’s a darned rugged aircraft. And AAA isn’t the problem so much as the shoulder fired missile. North Korea will be it’s last war.
Check this out....
If this video doesn’t make you want to get on top of a mountain with a flag in one hand, a pissed off bald eagle on your shoulder and a Springfield M1A in your other hand ... MOVE!!!!
1. Nephew did a rotation in A’stan, in 2011, when they called in CAS, upon finding out that A-10s were on the way, they just waited. It has a very distinct sound and looks like nothing more than a, Meat-Eater when it’s in the air. He said that they would be able to listen in on the ‘intercepted comms’ from ‘haj’. When they heard that plane, it was over. Not another shot fired.
2. Now I’m working a contract with F16s. From talking to the mechanics and techie’s, while loyal to their planes, when the A-10 is mentioned the tone of the conversation changes. It goes from talking all the technical and fancy aspects of an unbelievable plane, the F-16, to the awesomeness of a Barroom Brawler - Street Fighter - Big Brother, the A-10. They did mention that one of the biggest problems facing the A-10 and keeping it in the air is that all the machines, “tooling”, has been scrapped and replaced for other jobs.
3. Let the AF have their F35s and drink with their pinkie’s sticking out. As other’s on this thread have said, give the A-10s to the Knuckledraggers in the Army and the Corps, so they can pass a bottle of whiskey and brawl.
To make the air frame rigid enough to be able to use a aircraft carrier catapult, it added so much weight that it would severely limit its ability to carry munitions. Then they looked at developing a similar aircraft, but the effort never got enough traction.
Saw a pair operating in north western Virginia mountains once. On foot I was higher than them, and it was BADASS!
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