I wasn’t a pilot but did spend a fair amount of time around them and other senior leadership.
IMHO the mission, survivability, loiter time, and all that are really only excuses. What it really comes down to it the fighter pilots run the air force and they like things that go FAST.
The A10 is really just too blue collar for them.
“I wasn’t a pilot”
I was. . .and flew the A-10 operationally, as well as the F-15E.
“. . .but did spend a fair amount of time around them. . “
So did I, flew with them in fact.
“. . .and other senior leadership.”
So did I, served in the Pentagon on the AF/A8 and SAF/AQ staffs. Perhaps we ran into each other while working the POM or doing force planning.
Fast, slow, those are not the issue. The issue is a single-mission aircraft (A-10) and shrinking budgets made the Air Force favor multi-mission aircraft. . .like the F-16.
Further, CAS is a mission that was understood by the USAF as essential but secondary to A/A. One must control the sky first before you can really do CAS effectively in today’s battlefield.
Good day.