>But why then do the soldiers on the ground demand the A-10? I think that's a much more difficult question to answer and probably a lot more subjective. Define

>But why then do the soldiers on the ground demand the A-10? I think that's a much more difficult question to answer and probably a lot more subjective. Define "Demand"? Do they demand it over other platforms? And why? I don't have the answer to any of those, and I suspect that the extent that they demand or prefer the A-10 might be in part due to the fact that it just looks impressive. I think you might be onto something as well with regards to "seeing them in the conflict"; the A-10 is often regarded as "being down in the mud" with the troops, where as a JDAM drop from an F/A-18 or B-52 is going to be a angry fist out of nowhere. You can't bond with it, except maybe the soldier talking to it over the radio. =P The Viggen (in DCS) is hella fun. It's very fast at low-level, and brings a different feel than any other warplane in in the sim. It's very much a product of it's time; with cutting edge electronics but from the 60s and 70s. It's also a very purpose-built craft too: The ideal Viggen mission is to plan a route to strike against a pre-planned target, dump it's warload in an instant, and get out. The electronics are rather janky and will remind you of an Apollo-era computer, but again, they were cutting edge for the time, and it's remarkable how effective they are still. In DCS the Viggen will teach you good planning and tactics as your weapons and sensors are relatively primitive. But it's navigation is excellent, it's speed and handling at low-level are supurb, and it automates in all of the right places so that you can focus more on your surroundings. In DCS I flew it in those same large scale missions along A-10s. We had rudimentary ECM and chaff/flares to keep us alive. But it was really our speed that did so. You pop up close to the target, using the ground to mask you all the way in, keeping your speed as high as possible (this is where good planning helps) and then egressing out, preferably back under cover (again, planning!) Done well, we'd be long gone before a SAM could respond, let alone close the distance. It didn't always work though, and against targets that were much more in the open, we didn't do so well. And that's pushing mach .9, or 600+ KIAS. So you can see how an A-10 bumbling along at 200-300 is having a rougher go of it. I'd check out this great video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpFIHZJbTtY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpFIHZJbTtY Also search the /r/hoggit discussions over on Reddit. Viggen has a small but loyal following. It's not a good all-rounder, but it does certain things very well, and with style. =D Also, check out any of the "F-111 w/ Jeff Guinn videos" over on Aircrew Interview, and how they handled SAMs and how "high speed/low level" was a very difficult problem for air defense to solve back then. Different plane, but very similar mission set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAyMklJSwi8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAyMklJSwi8