That ISIS convoy would look like the road to Basra.
Posted on 09/01/2018 4:08:30 PM PDT by huldah1776
More than a third of the service’s Warthogs risked retirement without new wings.
It's official: The U.S. Air Force will buy new wings for aging A-10 Warthogs that risked a one way trip to the boneyard. The Air Force has made clear its intention to keep the A-10 flying after concerns surfaced that the service was taking advantage of the issue to get rid of the iconic close air support plane.
Earlier this month, a Pentagon official in charge of the A-10 program announced an effort to re-wing 110 of the jets “was not going to happen.” Of the 280 A-10s still in U.S. Air Force service, 173 have received new wings to keep them flying into the 2030s. The original re-winging contract with Boeing was for 242 sets of wings, but the contract ended when it was no longer cost-effective for the company, and the Boeing production line is closing later this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
Enjoy!
source from source (longer & more info)
https://www.military.com/dodbuzz/2018/01/25/air-force-searching-new-company-re-wing-10s.html
video with info, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpaC5Wvx6d4
Excellent.
It seemed like a stupid decision to eliminate those planes in the first place. They are very good planes for the right missions.
Those “aging A-10 Warthogs” are what the US Army needs for close air support. I don’t believe our broken procurement process is capably of buying anything that can replace them with the same level of effectiveness, let alone with something better.
So, the Air Force is just winging it? They’re going to fly these planes on a wing and a prayer?
Will there be any bias towards the right wing or the left wing?
Go, A-10! Wart Hogs forever!
It will be easier keeping the A-10 flying now McCain is gone. He was a big proponent for retiring them.
CC
Warthogs. Winning.
We should replace them with aerial hunter killers armed with lasers and plasma cannons, in addition to VTOL capability.
Great news. The A-10 is an excellent ground support attack platform and the pilots who fly them are red meat eaters. They absolutely love their mission.
Sadly we are so risk adverse and programs move like molasses. Their are newer airfoils ( high lift, low drag, low pitching moment is not out of the question tailored for this aircraft specifically, the current airfoil IMMIC has a G-d awful pitching moment ) , wingtips (1/4 ellipse for example ) DogTooths, VG’s etc etc that could add some performance on the top and bottom end, however they will not be designed to be incorporated on this buy, it is a blessing to get the buy alone. Sadly this would be the time to take it to the next level, but the days of things moving fast, aka P-51 designed and flying in 100 days, or Lockheed getting-er-done fast in the dark world won’t be applied here...
I remember reading that during Desert Storm these planes were hell on enemy tanks.
The Air Force ought to turn over Warthogs and any future CAS fixed wing aircraft to the Army. Otherwise the Air Force will continue to try to get rid of them.
...Warthogs. Winning...
https://www.weaselzippers.us/338761-a-10-warthog-strikes-taliban-machine-gun-team-bbbbrrraaap/
>>>Now, the Air Force has committed to buying more wings. According to DoDBuzz General Mike Holmes, the head of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command<<<
I’ll bet they will MAKE IT RIGHT!
“...That left at least 110 A-10s high and dry without new wings, a state that threatened to ground them for good unless a solution was found, reducing the number of A-10 squadrons from nine to six. The Air Force, focused on getting the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter up and running, didn’t include a new wing contract it its 2018 budget......”
The F-35 versions worry me. The services are in super deep into this program and I am not convinced it will work. The A-10 works.
That ISIS convoy would look like the road to Basra.
Nope. That decision was made many decades ago.
I lived through the days of AirLand Battle that the Army developed and the Air Force signed onto. My experience is based on Desert Shield/Storm, which thankfully had General Horner, Swartzkopf’s AirLand proponent in the Air Force as his Air boss.
Up through the Vietnam war, the Air Force was led by strategic bomber pilots who got their start in WWII. We paid a heavy price in Vietnam because they could not see that infared and Radar SAMS weren’t just like ack-ack.
During my whole career, the Air Force was led by the mighty hairy-chested. scarf-wearing fighter pilots of Vietnam. Guys like Horner were rare.
Finally, those old dudes are gone.
The leaders now are from Desert Storm, and AirLand is part of their doctrine.
I think this decision shows the fighter mafia just might FINALLY be dead.
Kim Campbell, call sign Killer Chick is another good Warthog story:
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/kimcampbell.html
Oh I liked that one! Outstanding ‘muzzie plinkin’ action!
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