A-10 Warthog Retirement Delayed for Six Years

KGUN9 ^ | February 2, 2016 | KGUN9

[Little Ray]

The process of re-opening the production line would be as expensive as developing a new plane - the dies, etc. have all been scrapped.

And we CAN improve it on it - better thrust to weight, more PGMs, better all-weather capabilities, etc.

But, truth is, we might need to downgrade - we don’t need super tankbuster as much these days, as we do flying tractors ready to dump PGMs on target when called for. Quantity might be better than quality for most applications right now.

[mcshot]

And the IDF.

[laplata]

The air force would rather keep it then let the Army have a fixed wing.

---

Then Air Force Brass shouldn’t bitch and moan about having it.

[laplata]

Hell yes!

[laplata]

It’s not “sad”. Nothing better has been conceived to replace it.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[laplata]

And the IDF.
—

Absolutely!

[NorthMountain]

Eventually, the wings will fall off. Until then, keep flying ‘em ... and build a bonafide replacement.

[Pollster1]

This will go over Obama’s head, but it should make sense to anyone who has ever worn the uniform.

1. The A-10 is a phenomenally effective aircraft for its vital combat mission.

2. The A-10 should remain operational until the Air Force has something at least as good to take over that mission.

As pretty as stealth aircraft are, and as fun as air-to-air combat jets can be, it’s boots on the ground who take and hold territory. We need aircraft that support those troops, and the A-10 is the best for that mission.

[NorthMountain]

USAF and aerospace manufacturers can’t come up with an effective replacement.

Can't??? Bullshit.

Try "aren't allowed to". The politics surrounding defense acquisition are absolutely disgusting.

[major_gaff]

The Marine Corps has fixed wings that specialize in ground support...give them to the Corps....can the A-10 be launched from a carrier?

[MasterGunner01]

The A-10 is the most effective CAS asset in the USAF inventory, the cheapest to run, highest availability, and most survivable attack plane — and some of the USAF fighter mafia think the F-35 can replace it? For the price of one F-35, you could run the whole A-10 fleet for years! Warthogs forever!

[SandRat]

That’s what gets rained on the BAD GUY by the A10: Holy HELL.

[laplata]

Yep!

[SueRae]

You are right. Fairchild in Hagerstown. Who knows who bought them up? Engine by GE.

[tanknetter]

Launched from a carrier, yes.

But not recovered aboard.

[21twelve]

I thought the name looked familiar. She also brought up the lawsuit that made the military stop forcing American women to wear the religous garb in the ME.

[tanknetter]

Boeing rebuilt the tooling for making the wings a few years back. And there are PLENTY of low-hours fuselages sitting at AMARG. No need to reopen the entire line, what we have would support a good sized active fleet for the next 50 years.

[Little Ray]

Heck, I can come up with an idea for one right now.
For instance, replace the gun with a submunition dispenser. being able to drop multiple precision guided munitions (PGM) might be a good replacement for the gun. You could carry a lot of 25 lb. bomblets for the weight of the gun and ammo.

[MasterGunner01]

Actually, the first .50 caliber Browning machine gun was the M1921. The M2 variant (standardized 1933) was a redesign of the original and has been in production ever since. The .50 caliber Browning will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2021 and it shows no sign of retirement.

[MasterGunner01]

If you took away their ordnance, the USAF would be just a very expensive flying club.