In any war with North Korea, the A-10 is a powerful weapon

Asia Times ^ | JANUARY 25, 2018 | STEPHEN BRYEN

[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.

[Daniel Ramsey]

I hope to hell Trump puts out an ultimatum, upgrade and build more....or else to anyone capable of doing so.

Obama is the one that tried to kill it because it was a very efficient platform, and in most cases it indeed made the enemy lose its will to fight.

[Axenolith]

The Germans didn’t have air superiority and their Stukas weren’t falling to ground fire to any significance. The Stuka wreaked havoc on the eastern front.

[jmacusa]

“I would imagine that NK has good numbers of older AA guns and those could chew up A-10s pretty well.’’. Nah. The Iraqis couldn’t do it any better with decent Soviet made stuff.

[Doogle]

...that’s why Odungo wanted it gone...it serves us well...

[Yosemitest]

The pilots who fly them and USE THEM, swear by them.
It's the P.C. Generals that don't like the looks of them.
But in a first strike "TAKE NORTH KOREA OUT" scenario, the A-10 Warthog is a mop-up aircraft.

There's a lot we can do, and there's a lot the South Korean Military can do.
But you just don't hear about their capabilities !

I've got 5 short tours in the ROK,
and I'm telling you from a Control Tower Watch Supervisor's perspective,

It'll be over quicker than you think,
and North Korea won't have the chance to do what many LIBERALS and DOVES think they can !

What about our ASM-135 ASAT missile or other weapon systems we have ?
What about our X-37B ?

We HAVE the capability.
What we've lacked ... is the "WILL" to USE it !
But Trump does NOT have that problem.

Do you think the artillery south of the DMZ that the ROK has, as well as the United States Army has, is just going to sit there and allow Seoul to be destroyed ?
What do you think their FIRST targets will be ?
Our's as well as the ROK's artillery are already 'dialed in' on those North Korean artillery sites, as well as the barracks that house the North Korean soldiers that man those sites.
How many of those north Korean Artillery sites are controlled by electronics (computers) ?

Do you know about CHAMP and its capabilities ?

Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) ( 2:17 )
defenseupdate on on May 16, 2015

Do you know about MOP ("Massive Ordnance Penetrator").
What do you think those THREE Carrier Groups are there for ?

Timing, and the planning of the timing of the attack (right down to the very second that each 'tool' is launched) ... is critical.

Nathan Bedford Forrest :

“I always make it a rule
to get there first with the most men”
“I just took the short cut and got there first with the most men.”

When it comes to North Korea...

FIRST, We take out their satellites. (ASM-135 ASAT missile)
Second, we zap them with EMP Cruise Missiles, radar jamming and chaff. (Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) )
Then here comes the ICBMs.
Then the all out strike begins.
Kim Jong-un gets a MOAB suppository.
Then we launch every aircraft in the region that’s supersonic, including South Korea’s fighters and bombers, to cross into North Korea from all directions, to overfly low level at Mach One PLUS, to bust every piece of glass in North Korea.
Then we firebombs the place to ashes.
The only real transportation system North Korea has is the railroads, so they get blown to smithereens.
And that’s just the start of day one.

And then we'll send in the Republic of (South) Korea's military in to KILL ANYTHING LEFT ALIVE NORTH OF THE DMZ !

[wardaddy]

My sons and I watched some Afghan firefight footage and when the Hogs show up with that electric 30mm gatling gun

The boys on the ground on our side look pretty elated

Whereas the other guys across the way in the tree line or proto Adobe huts don’t look so happy to be honest

It’s prairie dog dancing for them

[Yosemitest]

The F-35 ?
It's a CONGRESSIONAL P.O.S. forced on our military !
It'll be another HANGER QUEEN because of all the maintenance down time !
It'd be better just to give that crappy aircraft to our enemies.

[Squantos]

Was stationed at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson when the A-10 first came on line in 75. Was in awe then as well as walking the “Death Highway” after the fighting stopped in late February 1991....... We’re I chief cook and bottle washer making decisions for the USAF / DOD I would ask congress for 1000 new A-10’s, get promised 750, and settle in the end for 500 of em ...... The A-10 and the AC-130 variants are key to protecting our troops in my experience.

[ADemocratNoMore]

It seems to me that all the NK artillery trained on Seoul, which is reputed to be the major asset the Norks have against the South have a few issues that never get discussed. How old are the artillery pieces, what kind of maintenance do they need, how often do they get it, how old / reliable are the munitions, how well trained the troops manning the weapons and how much, if any hardening do the facilities have against EMP. My gut feeling says that they will not last long at all.

[McGruff]

I would hope we have drones now that can do the same job without risking brave pilot’s getting shot down inside North Korea.

[D Rider]

Conventional wisdom against the A-10.

Reality is very much different. A champ for close air support. It's "underpowered" engines are nearly silent. It flys low, chews up the enemy, is in and out. And it can stick around and is tough enough to slug it out. It's a beast.

[Mikey_1962]

I have a friend who flew one and was stationed at the Fulda Gap. He said that should there ever be an attack he was told to expect a 75 to 85% causality Rate.

But... the depleted Uranium 50 caliber bullets were awesome. I think the sacrificial “low and slow” nature of the weapon bothered people.

[Pollster1]

I would hope we have drones now that can do the same job without risking brave pilot’s getting shot down inside North Korea.

Nope. A very close relative of mine is active duty army and recently deployed. Drones are nice and do many good things, but nothing in existence or proposed has the capability of the A-10. They are irreplaceable. If I controlled Congress, I would not ask the USAF what plane they wanted for that mission, I would tell them that they are either repairing the A-10s they have or building new A-10s from the original plans (modified for any subsequent upgrades). New A-10s would be moderately expensive, but there is no R&D, no design delay time, and no uncertainty on design - making it a good, cost-effective purchase for new aircraft.

[PIF]

The Fulda Gap is or was in East Germany - no US troops were in that area as it was held by over 300,000 Russian troops - the closest any US forces were based was 4KM from the border; casualty rate, once the Russian mechanized Armies passed through the Gap, would approach 100% since tactical nukes would have been deployed already. Some strategic once also (limited to theater). Depleted Uranium rounds had not been invented at that time. Once past the Gap it would be about 72 hours before the Russians reached the Channel. That was how it was from 1950-1973.

Helicopter life expectancy was 15 seconds. A-10s would have been a few seconds longer had they existed at the time (the first ones flew in 1974). The US did not have the forces then to stop the Russian advance. After the fall of the wall 1989, the unification of Germany, and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian forces were withdrawn and the US had achieved a measure of technological advantage over a no longer existing enemy.

By that time 1974, there was no longer any real danger of attack which had passed years before.

Your friend in the A-10 could not have entered the Fulda Gap area until after 1989. By that time the A-10 was a plane without a mission.

[Yosemitest]

Better question: How often do those NK troops actually get practice firing those artillery pieces or any like them at firing ranges ?

Those troops are too busy stealing food from the North Korean Civilians.

[Yosemitest]

What are they going to shoot our pilots down with ?
Most of their anti-aircraft weapons are outdated Russian and Chinese weapons and maintenance is lacking.
And their fighter pilots get very little flight time, due to budget constraints.

[snoringbear]

“Only “speed freaks” don’t appreciate the sheer amount of whoop-ass that the Warthog can deliver.“

Yah, for sure. The military has been trying to phase it out since Vietnam. But, every time we deploy to some hotspot they drag out the warthog. There’s nothing better in our inventory to replace it. The military should put out a bid for a new generation Warthog and in the meantime refurbish/update the current inventory and stop trying to improve on perfection....

[ByteMercenary]

Absolutely agree with that statement.

Besides when we can build multiple copies of the A-10 for each single F35, that is a no brainer.

It is not hard to explain the difference in fear that Achmed J Kim on the ground has when he sees a single F35 coming in for a bomb run (1-2 bombs) and when he sees a hoard of A10s coming ‘round for the same attack.

[qaz123]

While $80,000,000 a piece, isn’t a laughing matter, you’re comment is funny and 100% correct. Always been kind of curious as to why the F22 was supposed to be baddest thing to take to the air, a few short years ago, but now we need the F35.

Of course, leave it to Congress to screw up everything. Those folks could screw up a wet dream.

[outofsalt]

The A-10 is best suited for close air support of ground troops. I don’t see that as being the plan for NoKo.

There was an Air Force general who used to joke that the A-10 was designed around the nose cannon, the F-15 around the radar and the F-16 around the ejection seat.

I hope they can keep the A-10 flying for a long time but I also hope we keep troops out of NoKo.