Posted on 06/25/2015 5:15:41 PM PDT by ryan71
The long-range plans of the Air Force and the Pentagon to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt took another hit Thursday from a non-partisan government report questioning Air Force projections on the savings from mothballing the fleet.
The Air Force estimate of $4.2 billion in savings over five years was unreliable and "may overstate or -understate the actual figure," the Government Accountability Office said in a preliminary report to Congress on the decision to retire the fleet.
Air Force leaders have said the service must retire the A-10 due to budget cuts in order to pay for the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh has told Congress the A-10 is not flexible enough and the service can depend on a mix of other aircraft like the B-1, F-16 and F-15 to fulfill the close air support mission.
The report, which was released Thursday, questioned the methods used by the Air Force to determine that retiring the A-10 and giving its close air support mission to other aircraft was cost efficient and would not detract from the vital role of protecting ground troops. Congress has continued to fund the A-10 with annual appropriations over the objections of the Air Force and the Defense Department.
Congress asked the GAO last year to study the Air Force's decision to retire the A-10. Findings throughout the report question and outright reject the service's case to send the revered close air support aircraft to the boneyard.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
What I took away from the article: Obama wants to kill the A-10 because it’s too effective.
The Stuka by the Luftwaffe in WW2.
The other "military intelligence..."
< /s >
For the less military aircraft inclined, otherwise know as the "STUKA."
A-10 is the perfect aircraft for its mission. To this day it is the CAS platform of choice and nothing else comes close.
MANY real officers in the Air Force not willing to toe the line of the current disgusting Administration have been forced to retire or moved to lesser positions.
A lot of the folks now in charge are more politician in a military uniform than Warrior.
I know this is the case in the Air Force. I’m sure it is also the case in our other branches.
The folks wanting to get rid of that great aircraft either know something I don’t, or they are doing as they have been told from up above the chain.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh has told Congress the A-10 is not flexible enough and the service can depend on a mix of other aircraft like the B-1, F-16 and F-15 to fulfill the close air support mission.
A B-1 for CAS? Is he insane? The B-1 base designed as a supersonic strategic bomber. That’s the polar opposite of what is needed for CAS. Somewhere, somehow, lobbyists for the big aircraft manufacturers are pushing the F35. Ground support be damned.
Absolutely
Just give the A-10 and the Air Force CAS role to the Army. The USMC would be glad for a few also.
Or buy the Scaled/Rutan “Ares”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG9LlHcX8lg
Turbofan Killer Bee: Rutan ARES “Mudfighter” for U.S. Army Close Air Support
This is the argument for down streaming the plane to National Guard units. And for cannibalizing some of them to maintain others.
We must have several thousand serviceable fighter planes to meet our worldwide demands. Without low cost planes in the mix, this means the bill will be astronomical.
The F-35 has a lot of limitations in range, payload and maneuver to gain stealth. Even so, Germans flying the Eurofighter have done well against the F-35.
It is already being called a dud and a thud. David AXE did a scathing report on its 4th generation capabilities and it is a 5th generation plane.
That’s quite a machine!
AF wants to retre the A-10 cause the chair force jumper jammie jet jocks don’t think it looks sexy enough. I say give the A-10 to the Marines, they know wha tto do with “em!
Just give it to the Army! Or rather, the Army should just take it. Just fly them to and park them at Fort Campbell and the 160th will figure out what to do with them in no time.
In the 90s, the Marine Corps tried its best to adopt the A10, but because it is incapable of taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier (non-rigid air frame) they had to turn it down. They even went so far as to reinforce the frame, but then it greatly reduced it ability to carry fireworks.
The 30,000-pound bomb that could be used against Iran’s nuclear facilities ‘boggles the mind’
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-30000-pound-bomb-that-could-be-used-against-irans-nuclear-facilities-boggles-the-mind-2015-6
Then. congress should stop the Sequester and its punishment of the military. This is now a deadly game: congress pretends it cares about national security while they cut the muscle and bone of the military budget, year after year. Meanwhile, the Trillions spent on Gibsaway Programs to the Takers increases every year
Gots to keep them budgets high?
Gots to keep getting the newest latest gadget even if it isn’t capeable of doing a better job.
A-10 is the tank killer.
Keep it.
(Fixed it -- to reflect the real truth...)
Thanks! I never hear that. Are there any articles available about that effort?
Yep, gravity works. An airframe takes a terrible beating on a carrier landing. Hang, even a cat shot requires substantial beefing up of the nose gear.
"No free lunch", right. The A-10 as a well deserved reputation as a tough bird, but hearing that it would not take carrier landings really reinforces the reputation of the "Grumman Iron Works", Douglas, Northrup, McDonnell and others who've build carrier capable aircraft over the years.
(Fixed it -- to reflect the real truth...)
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Thank you for fixing it.
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