good... i didn't know any were still flying
Posted on 08/20/2013 4:01:59 AM PDT by \/\/ayne
A nationwide effort has begun to save the Air Force’s A-10 after Arizona Senator Jeff Flake revealed on the James T. Harris radio show that plans were in place to mothball the craft. Boots on the ground have joined A-10 pilots and crews to save the plane that has frequently saved them.
Fans of the A-10 warthog are circulating a petition in the hopes of gathering 100,000 signatures by September 16. Facebook groups Stand for Protecting Heroes, Keep the A10 in the U.S. Military, and Save the A-10 deployed rapidly in defense of the plane that offers them their best chance of survival in war.
Flake, on a brief visit to Arizona during the Congressional summer recess, was asked by Harris if he would confirm reports that the A-10 was going to be retired. Flake responded that the A-10 would be retired but held out the promise of the F-35 as a viable substitute.
Flake’s candor shocked the Harris’ listeners, many of who work at the nearby Davis Monthan Air Force Base, which is home to the Warthog. The admission sent shockwaves throughout Arizona, and rippled out to the warrior community over the weekend.
(Excerpt) Read more at arizonadailyindependent.com ...
The air force leadership has been trying to kill the Warthog for years.
Back in the ‘90s their master plan was to replace it with the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
They were smugly arrogant about it too.
Claimed that while the ‘Hog was designed to take hits, the Falcon was designed to avoid them...
Idiocy at its best.
When its loiter time is 8+ hours, where the ground crew have to help the pilot out of the cockpit due to fatigue, then I'll be impressed.
When its logistic's foot print and support requirements are less than the A-10’s, then I'll be impressed.
When it can execute the ground support mission BETTER than the A-10, I'll be impressed.
Noe of the above are realizable with that POS.
The USAF leadership has a favorite refrain: “Big sky, little bullet” Yet, the planes still take hits and the A-10 does that better than any currently in the inventory.
CC
good... i didn't know any were still flying
I take exception to that statement!
“The B-52 and C-130 still have roles to play. No reason why the A-10 couldn’t.”
No reason but for administrative indifference?
Another important national and regional story broken by Cheesehead turned Tucsonian James T Harris.
Why have an Airforce in the first place. Tie it to the Army and Navy where it belongs.
Obama’s just trying to help out his friends.
Yes, I recall them pretty much chanting that during the 90’s with that round of idiocy.
They had one officer literally stating “the A-10 is designed to take hits, the F-16 is designed to AVOID them!”
As if that changes the reality of low level flying in flak infested air in the CAS flight bounds.
Mentioned was made of the A-10 being “Ugly” as well.
It boils down to that, every time.
The leadership wants only to field “pretty planes”.
You mean... a Ford pickup?
A-10 pilots call F-16s in a CAS role “lawn darts” for this exact reason. While the F-16 is a beautiful dogfighter, it can’t take a tenth of the punches an A-10 can.
You couldn’t use the F-35 on much of a strafing run since it only carries 180 bullets. I don’t know why they even put a gun in the thing.
Give them to the Army. We’ll take them.
It’s long past time to scrap the 1948 Key West Agreement (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_West_Agreement) which was in aid of the newly formed US Air Force. Navy was allowed to keep their air arm while the Army surrended all but recon and medical aircraft. There have been some modifications to the agreement, but the world and technology have changed dramatically since 1948.
All tactical combat air support assets and personnel needed to be released to direct and immediate control of ground troop commanders. The fast pace of asymetric warfare cannot not tolerate the lag time inherent in CAS requests. The Op-forces we are facing now do not have massive base camps or formations of the USSR.
There needs to be a critical re-thinking of command and control of combined arms in terms of the conflicts we now face.
Yes, but it won’t happen.
The insular and heavily politicized leadership will never admit there is s problem unless forced to.
Thanks for mentioning that... The ammo capacity of the 20mm F35 cannon is puny. Only enough for a few well aimed bursts. It doesn’t begin to compare with the hitting power of the GAU cannon on the Hog, either.
Lets face it: left to themselves air forces like to plan to fight other air forces. CAS is the very last mission that gets any real attention. But when you think about it it’s one of the primary reasons that air forces evolved in the first place!
If they can keep the BUFFs airborne and effective as long as they have, seems the Warthogs outta get their chance.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
