The Air Farce has been bound and determined to get rid of the Warthog despite it being loved by the Army and Marines. Unfortunately they got Trump on board with it as he gave a speech at Selfridge ANG Base in Michigan where the F-35 will replace the A-10s.
The A-10 is an old airframe. But it is an utter beast. Nothing like it for CAS. Have a friend who served in Iraq. He said nothing like the sound of that cannon going off. Instant morale boost for the guys on the ground - and an oh #### moment for the bad guys. Also they are TOUGH.
Brrrrrrrr. Bad guys #### their pants. Right before they become pink mist.
The Air Farce needs to get their heads out of their butts. The F-35 is amazing. But it cannot do what the Warthogs do.
I’ve been hearing the supersonic ‘sound of freedom’ at night here. It’s hard to tell whether it’s F-35s or the F-15EX. Wherever they’ve been going, it sounds like they’re getting there in a hurry. The last of the F-16 interceptors left in 1994 and the tactical F-16s left in 2009. What I’m hearing now could be transient fighters on their way to Grayling or the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, or who knows where!
So what if the Air Force doesn’t want the A-10? I am sure the Army / Marines would be happy to move them to their side of the Defense Dept. For the price of one F-35 the Army can build multiple A-10s and be happy to do so. The A-10 is far better suited to surface-level support than the Air Force’s hundred-million dollar unit.
“Unfortunately they got Trump on board with it as he gave a speech at Selfridge ANG Base in Michigan where the F-35 will replace the A-10s.”
Reminds me of NASA’s attitude regarding Space Shuttle. Why keep all of these other proven launch systems when Shuttle CAN DO IT ALL!...until it cannot get off the ground for months at a time, and then it blows up every 50 flights.