[Blue Highway]

And unbelievably the powers that be want to retire this fine aircraft.

[Diogenesis]

“dozens of ISIS elements,”

Like hydrogen, oxygen, and what other elements?

[txrefugee]

That old war horse is one of the winners in air warfare history. It’s not sexy, but it’s a beast! They keep saying it will be retired, but it can still do the job.

[mowowie]

Freedom Farts!
http://www.military.com/video/guns/gatling-guns/gau-8-gatling-gun-reborn/2439940600001/

[Hatteras]

Love that aircraft. But I think it’s pretty cool that they are killing Muslims with a pig. ;-)

[Tupelo]

I see them occasionally on flights from Davis-Monthan AFB.
Beauty really is in the eyes of the beholder and I think they are beautiful.
They and the V-22 Ospreys from Yuma.

[McGruff]

Seen a few Warthogs at Memorial Day parades. Pretty cool machines. But somebody stopped that due to budget cuts or something.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

The A-10 was always one of the Infantrymans greatest friends. It’s ability to provide close air support is unmatched by other aircraft in the inventory. I don’t understand any of the logic behind the effort to retire it.

[Texas Eagle]

Interesting that we get this report from Iraqi News.

I guess America's Men Seeking Men media doesn't even want to raise the possibility of having to explain how this is happening if the war in Iraq is "over".

[Iscool]

They get rid of the ‘big pig’, they’ll have to go back to napalm, which ain’t a bad idea either...

[Rembrandt]

The title had to be a machine translation. Pretty funny.

[njslim]

Remember when living in PA near Fort Indiantown

Would see A-10 swoping low between hills along Susquehanna
River

Impressive when standing on ridge and looking DOWN at the A-10

[eartick]

The cannon with wings.

I guess this would put the fear into a terrorist when the only thing left of Ol Achmed is his dentures.

Carry on

[depressed in 06]

Is getting killed by something named after a pig enough to get you disqualified for 72 virgins?

[KosmicKitty]

If you get killed by a “wild boar” does that mean you don’t get to paradise?

[SkyPilot]

Sequestration and massive budget cuts even before that was enacted have devastated the US Air Force and the military as a whole. Sequestration does not end until 2023.

The reason the Air Force tried to retire the fleet is because of these massive budget cuts. Eleven Air Force combat wings could not even afford jet fuel in 2013-2014. Thousand of DoD doctors and nurses quit in disgust after they were furloughed and had their pay cut. We went from 41 ready Army Combat Brigades to 2 who were even deployable. Navy ships and subs were scrapped because we could not afford the depot maintenance. Thousands of uniformed troops were given pink slips, some receiving them while deployed to combat zones.

The outcry from the American people, when the cuts were enacted, never happened.

To see the wails of "how could they think that?!" now ring hollow.

Instead of supporting our capability of this.....

....they demanded this.....

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Clinton tried to retire the A-10’s as well.

[rey]

If you want to know the true story behind the A-10 you need to read:

Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
http://www.amazon.com/Boyd-The-Fighter-Pilot-Changed/dp/0316796883

Great book, great story, great biographer.

Basically, the air force did not want the A-10 from the get go. Boyd knew we needed it and essentially pulled a fast one to cram it down the Air Force’s throat. Moreover, the air force, or many in the air force, do not prize the role of CAS, they’d rather dog fight or high altitude bomb. Boyd recognized the limitations in such a mindset. He was also instrumental in us getting and maintaining air superiority and why no one can really match us in air to air.

Great read.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Having seen an A-10 in action during a training exercise, I can assure everyone here that it is a great combination of scary and deadly.

The target was on a hill covered with dense pine forest. With zero warning, that aircraft just “materialized” over them, fired enough Gatling blanks so that everybody there knew they were toast. And then it was gone, faster than someone could raise their rifle.

When it flies slow, it is extremely maneuverable, yet can hang around an area for almost two hours. Then when the pilot hits the gas, zip.

[JimRed]

Ugly is as ugly does. The Warthog is UGLYYY, and does a magnificent job!