Battle damaged A-10 from an SA-7. It flew home.
Posted on 01/29/2015 7:15:03 AM PST by Reverend Saltine
I am...a fan of the A-10 Warthog. I believe in the mission, and I believe that there is no other weapons platform out there that can do the job the A-10 does, with the same efficiency, effectiveness, and confidence that it provides to our troops on the ground. It’s big, ugly, and slow. It’s also rugged, durable, and extremely deadly. The Air Force likes new toys. Other than the venerable B-52, the A-10 is the oldest plane in the inventory. The F-35 was not built solely for the specific mission of ground support as was the A-10. The F-35 is the new F-16, or so goes the argument. It can do many things well, not just one. But the price tag is enormous. This is one time, I believe, that the USAF has it wrong. I am usually in favor of new technology. Battlefield innovation is a bad thing to lag behind in, but some innovations like the old F-111 never lived up to the hype. Is the F-35 an effective weapons system? It still might be, but it is not a “low cost” version of the F-22, and the jury is still out. The original idea was to match up the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II and repeat the success of the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon. Then they tried to add the flexibility of the F-4, and it all went to hell. After over a decade of development and prototypes, cost estimates per unit have ranged from over $98 million...to $178 million for a standard A model to $337 million for the Navy version. The bottom line is that the cost per copy has risen exponentially higher than planned, and there simply will not be as many airplanes as originally planned. That changes the argument.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
I remember it like it was only yesterday when in 1966, the U.S. Air Force made the U.S. Army disarm our OV-1 Mohawks and promised the U.S. Air Force would provide any future close air support the Army might need.
The hate for the F35 stems from what it’s being pushed for.
I like the M16 and M4. Capable weapons on a decent platform. However, I would still rather have an M14 in some situations. Now, if someone told me it’s the M16 for everything, I’d be real upset.
That’s what’s happening. The F35 might possibly be a decent replacement for the F18. However it sucks as a replacement for the F16 and A10.
The F22 is a decent replacement for the F16. It’s actually in the realm of argument. It’s lunacy to try and make the argument which is what the pentagon is trying to do.
I was thinking of a purchase price of $1 each, just to make it legal
Wonder how many A-10s could be purchased for the cost of one F-35? And we will probably have to borrow the $$ to make them.
I can see the DoD pencil pusher touting it’s ability to multi-role by flying across gorges and valleys faster than the M1. Ignore that it can’t fire any shells and can’t fly well with a turret.
The military is being killed off by politicians in uniform to please traitors in suits.
Our military procurement system is part of the “fundamental transformation” of our Country to a third world sh!t hole owned by China.
The KC-135 is also older than the A-10.
Such is the "expertise" of the author.
I’m glad I posted that story, in case anyone was not aware of it.
Makes no sense does it (statement).
I think the problem is it kills rather than just shoots the AKs out of their hands....harmlessly
I am convinced the entire strategy is solely to get them away from Naional Guard units
I believe the stratgey is to get them away from National Guard or stateside control.
Think it through....
Got it!
I usually go to the source not only for the article but to read the responses of the general public (Freepers are above and beyond for the most part and I find it keeps me in the know about how others think), so, for those of us who love reading about experiences with the A-10 there are some good ones there, however, the most heart-wrenching for me was an example of how our boots are being screwed by the establishment written by Scott Tomaszycki.
True; but an exception might be made in this case.
Battle damaged A-10 from an SA-7. It flew home.
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