Posted on 02/25/2014 1:56:03 PM PST by bkopto
TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - The Defense Secretary announced today that he is recommending the elimination of the A-10, the mainstay aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, as part of a proposed military budget.
Chuck Hagel made the announcement today in at the Pentagon.
The Air Force has said it would save $3.5 billion over five years by cutting the entire fleet of 343 A-10s.
Hagel said he consulted with the military service chiefs on how to balance defense and budget requirements.
(Excerpt) Read more at tucsonnewsnow.com ...
Yeah, since we must lay eyes on the shooter and only hit the shooter and nothing else I guess CAS aircraft are useless. *sigh*
If they are as awful or outdated as they are telling us, I am sure Israel if buy them all and all their spares for about a penny a pound :-).
No, I was thinking of the U2.
Of course, I think the SR71 was decommissioned as well. And the Aurora, which is thoroughly denied, was its replacement. The rumor is that Aurora is about ready to be decommissioned for some new superduper spaceplane.
I saw a Skyraider at the Chino Airshow about 10 years ago I guess. They had tons of aircraft there... modern military, classic war birds, the small variant of the original Northrop flying wing... B-24s... a Constellation.... all truly amazing aircraft... The even did a formation flight with the original Thunderbolt with the “Thunderbolt II” (A-10)... but to me, that Skyraider was the sexiest thing on the field that day. What an aircraft.
You and Szonian are correct.
The skyraider must be pretty close to the limit of what can be done with a single engine prop aircraft.
Wiki has very detailed history of all aircraft and included the following (not news to you):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_U-2
U-2R/S details[edit]
The U-2R, first flown in 1967, is significantly larger and more capable than the original aircraft. A tactical reconnaissance version, the TR-1A, first flew in August 1981. A distinguishing feature of these aircraft is the addition of a large instrumentation “superpod” under each wing. Designed for standoff tactical reconnaissance in Europe, the TR-1A was structurally identical to the U-2R. The 17th Reconnaissance Wing, Royal Air Force Station Alconbury, England used operational TR-1As from 1983 until 1991. The last U-2 and TR-1 aircraft were delivered to the U.S. Air Force in October 1989. In 1992 all TR-1s and U-2s (all U-2Rs) were re-designated U-2R. The two-seat trainer variant of the TR-1, the TR-1B, was redesignated as the TU-2R. After upgrading with the F-118-101 engine, the former U-2Rs were designated the U-2S Senior Year.
Active Duty ping.
What was Gary Powers flying in 1960?
A U-2 built before 1960.
The currently flying U-2s were built no earlier than 1980.
You can believe it.
They wanted to get rid of it before the first desert war, but it proved very reliable and versatile.
the F 16 guys would mope into the dining hall in the evening and the A 10 guys would come in swapping stories at a furious pace.
The guy that hate the A 19s the most, the guy that begrudgingly sent the in, retired and went to work for General Dynamics soon after.
Tells me there is the old Chamber of Commerce in the fray here.
Davis Monthan
They are so slow and distinguishable. When they fly by on a rare occasion they are so eerily recognizable. Almost menacing, but very friendly.
We could save a lot of money by scrapping all but one of the Carriers and most of the other ships in the fleet. That would free up a lot of money to grant to Democrat voters and donors.
It would be far more Progressive, too, of the 10 remaining ships in the US Navy three were superlux liners for training LGBT sailors and replacement admirals.
The politicians think they can replace infantry with drones and the military knows they must try to replace infantry with drones.
I’d fly either of them! Sweet birds that can fly slow and low and carry enough firepower to make a mess.
I bet it is LOUD, too! Probably makes your heart thump.
Really? First flight in'55, Powers was shot down on '60. Kinda fuzzy math you learned.
"...have about 80% of their airframe life left in them..."
Some of the TR-1s may have that left, but doubtful.
"The U2 can divert to a different mission in a matter of minutes, the Global Chicken cannot.
Incorrect. Global Hawk can be diverted just as quickly as U-2, perhaps even more so depending on mission length vs endurance.
"...it's rate of climb and time to reach max ceiling are garbage compared to the U-2."
Neither are an operational factor....climb to altitude is performed hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from hostile airspace.
"The only advantage to the Global Chicken is endurance..period."
Most folks might consider being unmanned an advantage, especially if it were your son sitting in a slow, unarmed target that sticks out like a sore thumb.
My family’s land was near the Eglin AFB reservation and there was a bombing range near enough that I could go up to the highest pasture and watch the planes both bomb and strafe.
Around 1960 I got a binocular for my birthday. My Father went with me to pick one out. Jimmy’s pawn in Ft. Walton Bch. had two which did not top my budget of $20. One was a new Bushnell and the other was a used “Nippon Kogaku”. I didn’t know it at the time but the Japanese one was actually a Nikon. It was so much better than the Bushnell that there was no real choice.
I would sit and watch the Phantoms, F-100s, F-105s, and whatever do their drills. I could see them dive then they would disappear and I would literally be shaken by a bomb, then I would see them climb and do a big circle and come back. If they fired a vulcan it was just one roar. I left for college in 1966 and don’t think I ever did watch the planes again.
The Air Force has always disliked the A-10 because it is not expensive, cutting edge technology. They dislike having to provide close air support for lowly Army and Marine grunts. $3.5 billion will barely buy 10 F-35s.
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