It’s the right tool for the job. Has there been any convincing testimony or information otherwise?
What else produces a “Highway of Death” in an armored tank advance?
There is simply no viable replacement for the function the A-10 performs so well. It is a version of cavalry that happens to fly, rather like a flying tank, throwing out huge amounts of projectiles at very high muzzle velocity, and capable of disabling or even destroying a terrestrial armored vehicle. To say nothing about what would happen to a column of supply or personnel carrier vehicles.
Add to that the high degree of mobility, and you have a devastating war machine.
Crank up the production lines and start getting them out there on the front. Shock and Awe still are major psychological and tactical strategies.
“It’s the right tool for the job. Has there been any convincing testimony or information otherwise?”
It’s not. An Apache is a preferable alternative for very close support (slower and lower, sees the friendlies better). Also, the 30mm anti-armor cannon is not optimal for killing terrorists and their camels - the ammo is far more expensive than need be. It is far more expensive than the 30mm explosive round fired by the Apache.
When it’s less close air support (situations such as portrayed in the broken arrow scene in “We Were Soldiers”) the F-16s and other jets can do fine. Troops now have laser designators that give GPS coordinates that can be directly loaded into the GPS guided bombs. Even B-52s and B-1s can provide support that way.
The A-10 is obsolete as a tank-buster against first or second tier opponents, and it’s the wrong weapon for CAS. It is a good source for pork in certain congressional districts, though.
“What else produces a “Highway of Death” in an armored tank advance?”
F-16s, F-18s, F-15s, F-111s, B-52s and Apaches. Completely obsolete (and retired) Navy A-6s made it possible when they blocked the highway by cluster-bombing a lead convoy. A-10s were there too, but the outcome would have been the same if they’d been replaced by F-16s.
Here’s a decent video about the HoD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhmXleZXAr0
Plenty of good jet footage there, and an appearance by an A-10. As an aside, it’s a shame cluster bombs have been dropped from the inventory...