Goodbye to the Warthog?

Started by BanzaiCat, December 13, 2013, 11:23:42 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

BanzaiCat

End looms for US Air Force's 'Warthog' ground-attack jet

http://news.yahoo.com/end-looms-us-air-force-39-39-warthog-115956604.html

QuoteWashington (AFP) - Long disliked by the US Air Force, the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jet may finally be heading for the chopping block due to budget constraints.

The "Warthog," first designed as a tank buster to target Soviet armored vehicles in the middle of the Cold War in the early 1970s, is shunned by many aviators.

Although the twin-engine aircraft is slow, it is incredibly efficient at providing close air support for ground forces, making it an appreciated asset for the US Army.

But the US Air Force "never had a whole lot of interest in a subsonic close-air support plane," explained Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with consulting firm Teal Group.

Some of the comments are very interesting:

QuoteAs an airborne infantry vet, I saw these at first hand views... saw one take practically a very sharp, almost vertical nose dive straight down... I just stared at it and thought, "turn up, turn up! you're gonna burn in!" it fell below a tree line just a few hundred feet from our position and I honestly expected to see an explosion, but this plane was able to turn up somewhere on just the other side... These planes rock! I always felt a sense of more security knowing these planes were overhead!... We can't just scrap them! I wish I had a piolets license, I'd buy one! Hate to see them go!
...
From a recipient of the benefits of the A-10 I'm sad to see it go. It's not as sexy, fast or hi-tech as any other "fast mover" but it puts rounds on target and scares the hell out of any enemy ground troops. If ever you've had the displeasure of receiving the business end of that 30mm canon you'd know what I mean and if you've ever called in CAS and all the A-10 had was the 30mm then you'd be happy to hear that grinding "brapp" sound of the 30mm putting rounds on target.
...
So let's get this straight. We probably will be dealing with insurrections and terrorist groups for a long, long time. We have a plane that actually worked well in both Iraq and Afghanistan and probably more places than we care to know of, and the Brass wants to scrap it. Make a lot of sense. Now we have an F-35 fighter which most likely will continue to cost a fortune, isn't proven and we're going to pay millions and millions in cost overruns, and probably could be defeated by an F-15 Silent Eagle, but we can't have that can we? Jeez, and I wonder why the U.S. is going broke.


mirth

We need to let the Army operate fixed-wing CAS.
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

GDS_Starfury

QuoteSpeaking Thursday before the American Enterprise Institute think-tank in Washington, Welsh stressed that to make the same savings of $3.7 billion, "we would have to shut down three to four times as many F-16s squadrons as we do A-10s."

I dont buy that bit at all.  the A-10 is one of the cheapest aircraft to operate that I know of.
Toonces - Don't ask me, I just close my eyes and take it.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.


mirth

Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 13, 2013, 12:00:35 PM
QuoteSpeaking Thursday before the American Enterprise Institute think-tank in Washington, Welsh stressed that to make the same savings of $3.7 billion, "we would have to shut down three to four times as many F-16s squadrons as we do A-10s."

I dont buy that bit at all.  the A-10 is one of the cheapest aircraft to operate that I know of.

Yeah, that sounds like bunk to me as well.

This part made me laugh out loud

Quote"...we have to be very honest with ourselves inside the Air Force about how much we can afford"

Where's that honesty been with the F-35?
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

BanzaiCat


DoctorQuest

"Everything you read on the internet is true." - Benjamin Franklin

"Zero-G and I feel fine....." - John Glenn

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, inventor of the alternative fact.

GDS_Starfury

I also recall that the AF signed contracts last year for new wings for the A-10 fleet.
it seems like every year theres a story about retiering the A-10 and it doesnt happen.
we'll see.
Toonces - Don't ask me, I just close my eyes and take it.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.


BanzaiCat

Is it true that the A-10 is "shunned by many aviators?" I'm sure it handles like a pig and it's slow, but hell, to have that kind of CAS power between your legs...must be how Mirth feels on date night.

mirth

Fighter jocks hate anything subsonic. And air-to-mud has never been popular with the AF. Yet they continue to fight the Army on operating fixed-wing CAS aircraft.
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

BanzaiCat

I agree with your earlier statement, that the Army should be dealing with these CAS assets and not the Air Force.

GDS_Starfury

given the choice Id rather fly an A-10 then a F-16 or F-15.  I think it would be a lot more fun!
Toonces - Don't ask me, I just close my eyes and take it.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.


LongBlade

I guess the question is: with so much precision munition, is CAS still necessary?

My gut tells me yes, but I really do not know. It's not an area I've ever looked into.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

GDS_Starfury

smart weapons cost a lot of money.  30mm shells dont.   ;D
Im pretty sure that it also costs a lot less money to patch 23mm hole in an A-10 vs a F-16 or F-35.  that is if the F-16 or F-35 can make it back to base.
Toonces - Don't ask me, I just close my eyes and take it.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.


BanzaiCat

Also, what one of the commentators said was priceless - that it scares the hell out of the enemy. There's something to be said for that giant flying titanium-lined tank bearing down on your position and when that BRRRRRRRAAAAPPPP starts.




bayonetbrant

The only reason its survived since the 80s is that every time they try to cut it, the Army finds some Congressman to introduce a bill transferring them from the USAF to the Army, which promptly causes the USAF to do an about-face and decide to hang onto them after all.  It's not that the USAF really *wants* it, they just don't want the Army to have it.
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers