Posted on 08/13/2019 2:56:43 PM PDT by jazusamo
The iconic A-10 Thunderbolt II will be flying into the late 2030s thanks to a re-winging project completed by the U.S. Air Force.
Air Force Materiel Command said in a press release on Monday that 162 A-10s received new wings thanks to a $1.1 billion project that began in 2011.
The contract, awarded to Boeing in 2007, required the creation of new parts for the plane’s fuselage.
“At the end of the program, making sure we had all the pieces and parts that we needed to make that happen required a really significant team effort,” said Stephen Zaiser, director of the 571st, Air Force Times reported Tuesday...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
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Thanks, good story and I agree.
Yep, it’s the Warthog.
nicknames “Warthog” or “Hog”
What you need for close air support is a big payload, loiter time, and survivability. Stealth is not really useful because a CAS aircraft which is doing its job is pretty easily detected by the Mk I Eyeball.
So my guess is that any A-10 replacement worth a darn would look a lot like .......
the A-10.
I didn’t even know that it was officially the thunderbolt, but I was confident that this would be a good thread.
Agreed...
Maybe a high wing version for really rough strips?
Nice post, which comes close to summing up my unprofessional take.
Speed is the opposite of loiter time, and I love your comment on stealth.
It strikes me that getting every one that can be refurbished done and then trying to get a few more would be a very prudent long-term investment.
Anyone ever seen a helo gunship almost at a hover pouring fire on the gomers knows how well slow works.
yeap, best attack plane ever built. nothing comes close.
Saw a couple of them today. A few minutes later, I could hear them doing some practice runs. They do that regularly about 10 miles from my house. I used to live much closer to their practice range.
I love that aircraft.”
The Warthog has a design and look that just says “death machine” and the airframe itself can easily last another 30 years with updates to the electronic hardware, software, and engines.
I stood flipping the bird at an A10 pilot as he repeatedly staffed our column. Killed us Killed us.
We should have been mobile. My command screwed up.
Thank God it was practice
The US Army does not want them either - soldiers do, but not the high brass - the perfumed ones.
There was an AF General who said the A10 was designed around the nose cannon, The F15 around the radar and the F16 around the ejector seat. ;)
If I was a wealthy person I would love to have a private owner version of this plane.
Army is not allowed by federal law to operate armed fixed wing aircraft.
Hope they used different personnel than they did on 737 Max.
Marines are. Next version needs more robust landing gear and a tail hook for carrier landings.
A beefed up frame to keep the GAU-8/A from continuing down the deck after the rest of the plane stops would also be a plus...
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