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The A-10 is a truly amazing airplane, in large part due to the main gun, and has proved its usefulness again and again in real combat situations. Its extended a
by skywhopper 13y ago
The A-10 is a truly amazing airplane, in large part due to the main gun, and has proved its usefulness again and again in real combat situations. Its extended air-to-ground capabilities (which are the vast majority of our air power needs in modern warfare) are unmatched by any other plane or chopper on the armed forces, and for all that it was a remarkably inexpensive plane to build. But despite all that, no new A-10s have been produced in 20 years, they're being retired at the rate of two each month, and the Air Force wants to replace them with the debacle that is the F-35.
- ahelwer 13y agoThe A-10 is extremely vulnerable to man-portable air defense systems (MANPADs), which are difficult to spot and nearly impossible to avoid at the low altitudes within which the A-10 best performs. MANPADs are more and more common on the modern battlefield, and the supply exploded after the 2011 Libyan Civil War. Furthermore, the GAU-8, while an impressive weapon, doesn't hold its own against any tank built within the last twenty years. This leaves the A-10 as a slow, unstealthy delivery platform for AGM-65 Maverick missiles and JDAMs, a role better performed by higher-performance aircraft. I say all that as a huge fan of the A-10c, with many hours spent in the DCS sim. People seem to get bizarrely hyperbolic over the capabilities of this plane, but it's really a dinosaur.
- stcredzero 13y agoThe A-10 is extremely vulnerable to man-portable air defense systems (MANPADs), which are difficult to spot and nearly impossible to avoid at the low altitudes within which the A-10 best performs. How about building a ground support platform that can deal with this? Apparently, the Army has tried with helicopters with instrument pods above their rotors, so they can target enemies from behind cover. Perhaps the solution will be many small drones taking the place of one manned aircraft.
- Warhawg01 13y agoA-10s have a missile warning system that is tied directly to the flare dispenser.
- nether 13y agoThanks for this. I don't see why people think 30 mm slugs are effective against tanks designed to resist 120 mm penetrators or shaped charges, including top armor hits. And simply enduring battle damage is insane against modern MANPADS with large warheads. The A-10, along with the B-17, is one of the most over-romanticized aircraft of all time.
- ahelwer 13y agoYep, the A-10c can take a real beating, but there's a huge gap between combat readiness and limping back to base for expensive repairs, assuming you survive the initial SAM strike. Much better to never be hit (or even seen!) in the first place.
- Nrsolis 13y agoUh huh. You're saying this based on how many deployments?
- Nrsolis 13y agoJeez. Tanks? You're neglecting one of the most valuable roles for the A-10: close air support for ground troops in contact. In that situation (read: the entirety of our conflict in Afghanistan/Iraq) tanks had NO ROLE. You're fighting a highly mobile ground force that often have an armament/position advantage and that's where the A-10 CAS really really makes a difference. Nobody fought TANKS in Afghanistan. Ask anyone who's been in contact with the enemy how they feel when they hear that distinctive "BRRRRRRRAAAAAP!" It's like FSCKING CHRISTMAS.
- LanceH 13y agoThis, right here. Doing close air support you want A-10 pilots or Marines.
- leviathant 13y agoI think this needs illustration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuYmn_xYB78 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuYmn_xYB78 My father worked on A-10s in the Air Guard, I thought was very familiar with them... but it wasn't really until I saw that video that I realized how terrifying they are in the appropriate situation. While the above video is a friendly-fire close call, you're probably not going to find video like that from the other side of the line.
- nathanvanfleet 13y agoI'll keep track of all this for the next time I play Civilizations.
- Warhawg01 13y agoWhen was the last time an A-10 was shot down by a MANPAD? And what is your proof that it is ineffective against modern tanks? I ask as an actual A-10C pilot, with many more hours flying it than you have in a "sim".
- hudibras 13y agoWhen was the last time an A-10 was shot down in air-to-air combat? Never? They must be unstoppable! But, seriously, there's that old saying: the only way to bring down an A-10 is to put a suicidal pilot in the cockpit.
- ufmace 13y agoDo you know anything about changes in tactics related to MANPAD threats, then? I read some about the Soviet war in Afghanistan, where we supplied MANPADs to the rebels for use against Soviet helicopters. Reportedly, they didn't actually shoot down very many helicopters, but they were very effective in that the threat of them forced the helicopters to engage from much further away from the battle and move at higher speeds to limit their vulnerability, but also limiting their effectiveness. I wonder if there has been an affect like that on the A10s. And I wonder if anybody who knows is actually allowed to tell us.
- bluedino 13y agoThey can also take an incredible amount of damage, to the point of being able to be brought back to base missing one of the wings.
- kjs3 13y agoNo An A-10 has successfully returned to base with half of one wing missing. Big difference. It's not the only plane to claim this (notably, the B-17).
- stcredzero 13y agoAlso, an Israeli F-15 flew back to base after having one entire wing sheared off in a mid-air collision. http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/9884/did-an-f-15-airplane-successfully-land-with-just-one-wing http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/9884/did-an-f-15... An F-8 Crusader Navy jet could take off with its wings still folded, then come around and land again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_F-8_Crusader#Operational_history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_F-8_Crusader#Operational... (Search for "wings folded". I like the part about the pilot complaining that the controls felt "heavy.")
- jsight 13y agoOn a truck? No A-10 can fly while missing an entire wing. :)
- jggonz 13y agohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BecNTYPYbU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BecNTYPYbU This one came back with bullet holes, but still had both wings.
- mncolinlee 13y agoForgive my ignorance. I thought the AC-130 was starting to fill more of the A-10 roles given a lack of enemy fighter aircraft in recent conflicts and the desire to carry more armaments.
- infinotize 13y agoQuoting my own comment from another subtree below. AC-130s circle low and slow, and cannot maneuver quickly, which makes them very very good SAM targets. After an AC-130 was shot down in Iraq, they only fly at night.
- caycep 13y agoI am sort of thinking that someone in the pentagon is thinking drones for the future of this type of mission...