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| End looms for US Air Force's 'Warthog' ground-attack jet |
| 2013-12-13 |
| [Pak Daily Times] 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 to provide close air support of 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. "This is a plane for large land combat engagements and for the foreseeable future, you probably won't face too many of those and there's also the budget pressure." The US Air Force had tried several times since the end of the Cold War to scrap a large part of its A-10 fleet but then gave up in the face of a series of unexpected deployments, such as the Gulf War and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #23 'actaully' = actually Ugh... |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2013-12-13 16:08 |
| #22 They used to have at least one squadron of these at NG Truax Field in Madison, Wi. Their training area was up by Necedah, Wisconsin. It actaully had an old set of bleachers to sit on and watch the exercises. The pilots seemed to know when there were visitors (heck, they could see what we were eating for snacks, they flew so low) and would go 'all out' in their runs and ammo dispensing. A great (but not so quiet) afternoon with the wife & kids. Miss those days. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2013-12-13 16:07 |
| #21 They were just checking 'green' conditions AlanC. Checking them? I think they were repairing the ball marks! Either that or they were playing through. 8^) |
| Posted by: AlanC 2013-12-13 15:10 |
| #20 They were just checking 'green' conditions AlanC. :) |
| Posted by: Shipman 2013-12-13 13:36 |
| #19 Ive seen the A-10 working and seen the results. Back in Feb of 91 in uniform. As a contractor out of Balad and Bagram into the boonies. As a former grunt, I love em - they don't really leave much threat unventilated. I love the sound, because you know it means that someone who wants to kill you is having a hell of a miserable day. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-12-13 12:45 |
| #18 The Warthog is a classic example of form follows function. Ground pounders need close air support. The A-10 does it. The Air Force doesn't think that they are sexy enough. They are to the troops on the ground. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2013-12-13 12:20 |
| #17 They were just checking 'green' conditions AlanC. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-12-13 12:06 |
| #16 Closest I ever got to a 'hog in the air was playing golf at the Westover AFB in Springfield MA. Was on the 3rd tee and a flight of A-10's was practicing low level runs. Came up over the ridge behind us and passed over at about 10 ft off the ground (okay a little higher) and scared the bejesus out of all of us. Damn that would scare the fight out of any guy on the wrong side of a gun sight. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2013-12-13 11:32 |
| #15 I was at the Men's Final of the US Open Tennis a few years ago and a bunch of A10's did a flyover. "Wow- Warthogs" I yelled. "What's that?" said my neighbor. So I gave her and some other New York tennis fans a little talk on the A10 " it's really just one huge flying machine gun!!!" and so on. Do you think I made any friends for my trouble? Neither do I. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2013-12-13 10:33 |
| #14 Did a damn good job in the suck. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-12-13 10:14 |
| #13 forgot to add...the Idaho NG flys them around Boise so I get to see them in the air...for now |
| Posted by: Warthog 2013-12-13 10:06 |
| #12 Alas...my beloved A10. ugly (to many), slow and the grunts best friend when the 30mm is unleased |
| Posted by: Warthog 2013-12-13 10:00 |
| #11 It all began going downhill in 1947 Spot :-( |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-12-13 09:52 |
| #10 Give the Army back the ground support function (like the Marines have) and let the Air Force suck eggs. |
| Posted by: Spot 2013-12-13 09:44 |
| #9 I saw a couple of the A-10 prototypes on the airfield at Ft. Ord back in '77. I thought they looked great then and still do. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Give them to the Army and Marines. They'll make good use of them. |
| Posted by: OCCD 2013-12-13 09:24 |
| #8 ...or bureaucratic empire building. Not that it's exclusive from stupidity. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-12-13 08:56 |
| #7 IF it works, use it, all else is stupidity. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-12-13 08:43 |
| #6 The Triumph of the Fighter Mafia Leave what is called the Air Force as the Strategic Forces and move the ground and transport function to end users. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-12-13 08:18 |
| #5 I'm probably weird but I always loved the look of the A-10 and the design center. It seems like a tool that does what it was meant to do, does it very well and gives great value for money. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2013-12-13 08:15 |
| #4 I still remember taking the kids to an airshow near Phoenix in 1986 (or so) and seeing an A-10 in a steep dive until I was absolutely sure he could not possibly pull up. Then he did. He must have had his nose pointed at the same spot on the ground for an hour-and-a-half! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2013-12-13 07:54 |
| #3 ...Wishful thinking on the part of our Pak allies, whose friends really hate being on the wrong end of the Warthog. The USAF pretty much had to be beaten into it, but a few days back it was announced that they're upgrading the Hogs for another fifteen years or so of service. Semper Ugly. :) Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2013-12-13 05:17 |
| #2 The US Air Force had tried several times since the end of the Cold War to scrap a large part of its A-10 fleet but then gave up in the face of a series of unexpected deployments Very strange thing about surprise attacks, they generally arrive....unexpected. The Taliban didn't care much for A-10 action, neither the 30mm or the bomb loads. The few Taliban squirters that survived (and there were damn few) generally unassed the AO about as fast as sandals can gallop. No need to keep them on station. The A-10 can RTB (return to base) for gas and a club run. Let a 'Tiger Shark' drone loiter the target area and police up the BDA (bomb damage assessment). When the A-10 is retired, the US Army Infantryman will have lost a true friend. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2013-12-13 00:42 |
| #1 Said it before: Pack them up and send them to Fort Rucker. The Army will fly them, no problem. Great 1-2 punch with the attack helicopters, and the A-10 is the grunts greatest fixed-win friend. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2013-12-13 00:20 |