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>Regardless, the A-10 is an anachronism now True >Its chief advantage was its ruggedness and ability to properly explore the battlefield when attacking Well,
by redthrowaway 13y ago
>Regardless, the A-10 is an anachronism now
True
>Its chief advantage was its ruggedness and ability to properly explore the battlefield when attacking
Well, not really. While those are both big advantages it enjoys, its chief advantage and the mission is was designed for was that it carries enough ordinance to stop a Soviet tank column rolling into Germany in its tracks.
The A-10 is absolutely overkill for any modern CAS mission, and the airframes are simply 40 years old. Extending their life is only a temporary solution; they'll have to be replaced sooner or later. When they are replaced, there really isn't much of an argument for building a direct replacement instead of farming its various roles out to other platforms {hang and wait: predator, strike: f-35, CAS: Apache}
- jessaustin 13y ago...it carries enough ordinance to stop a Soviet tank column... If we don't need them there would probably be some interested parties in Eastern Europe right about now...
- stackcollision 13y agoAnd that's how the US Air Force became Rent-A-Warthog.
- Uhhrrr 13y agoIt's like Uber for ground-attack aircraft!
- redthrowaway 13y agoJust don't tell Bloomberg.
- chernevik 13y agoUber Alles
- Pxtl 13y agoWell, I meant in recent engagements. I mean, how many times was the A-10 actually used to attack a Soviet tank-column vs. gunning down a bunch of poor guys with AKs hiding in light cover?
- Turing_Machine 13y agoWell, none. Deterrence, dude.
- dylanrw 13y agoMaybe not soviet, but it sure racked up an insane count & ratio on Iraqi columns: Destroying: - more than 1,000 tanks - 1,200 artillery pieces - 2,000 other military vehicles Confirmed kills include: - 967 tanks - 926 artillery pieces - 1,306 trucks - 501 armored personnel carriers - 28 command posts - Successfully hunted and destroyed SCUD missiles - Suppressed enemy air defenses - Attacked early warning radars Those numbers to 5 losses in Desert Storm alone...