[saminfl]

Isn’t fast. Doesn’t have a pointy nose. Doesn’t have an “F” in the designation. Of course the USAF doesn’t want it.

See my earlier post. You guys are wrong. The main mission the AF has now is CAS.

[SampleMan]

I have no doubt that A-10 pilots embrace CAS. What I doubt is the USAF commitment to CAS.

What do I base this on? Allotment of assets. What is the replacement for the A-10, which is 30+ years old? There is none. The F-35 is a replacement for the F-16, which does CAS, but is not optimized for it.

What new aircraft have been funded in the last 30 years? F-117, B-2, F-35, F-22, F-15E. The F-15E is certainly a F/A aircraft, but it is optimized for strike missions, not CAS in the FEBA.

Fighting a foe without defense's allows any aircraft that can carry a JDAM to perform CAS, but that all changes when the enemy shoots back. In such an environment UAVs are being looked at to take a bigger and bigger role. So where is the USAF’s priority? It appears to be in moving those assets to the Army.

That's why I question the Air Forces commitment to CAS.