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Science & Technology |
A10: The Customer Is Definitely Right |
2019-09-03 |
[Strategy Page] The air force leadership, during the decades they were dedicated to retiring the A-10, did not like to discuss the usefulness of A-10s in CSAR missions. Yet this was a very popular use of the A-10 because when a pilot had to eject and was on the ground, they quickly learned that if you had the enemy nearby looking for you, what you wanted to see first was not a rescue helicopter, but a heavily armed and armored low-flying "hog" that would make sure the rescue chopper and the downed pilots were not hurt. The A-10s regularly came in low and slow seeking out enemy troops and was, unlike most aircraft, designed and armored to deal with a lot of enemy fire and keep fighting. This CSAR chore was nothing new for the A-10 and goes back to before the A-10 entered service. Many reserve and National Guard A-10 squadrons regularly practiced CSAR tactics in part because many of the pilots were older and more experienced and retained memories of Vietnam, and the aircraft that inspired the A-10 by showing how such a low and slow aircraft could be invaluable during so many CSAR missions. The Vietnam era A-1 Skyraider (nicknamed "Spad", after a famous World War I fighter) was one of the inspirations for the A-10. The A-1 was the most popular ground support aircraft during the 1960s and proved a literal lifesaver during hundreds of Vietnam CSAR missions. Developed at the end of World War II, the A-1 was an 11 ton, single-seat, propeller-driven aircraft that carried 3.5 tons of bombs and four 20mm autocannon. The four 20mm cannon could, altogether, fire 40 rounds a second. Cruising speed was 320 kilometers an hour (versus 560 for the A-10), and the average sortie was about four hours (a little longer than the A-10). The A-10 could go as slow as 220 kilometers an hour, which was nearly as slow as the A-1 could manage but the A-10 had a max speed of 700 kilometers an hour, more than a third faster than the A-1. The current generation of generals has more and more pilots who know very well what the A-10 can do and how much better the A-10 does it than another other aircraft. The survey of JTAC and JFO personnel confirmed it and the new generation of air force generals understood that and agreed that the A-10 was worth keeping "indefinitely." Much more, RTWT |
Posted by:KBK |
#6 Was that GAU-8 bastard ever mounted on any other thing ? What a beauty. I remember seeing photos of yards of chewed up asphalt and tarmac, with ambiguous heaps of metal scrap which used to be ISIS vehicles splattered with human gristle. I read somewhere that the Warthog's track record of surviving war zones can only be matched by its survival of Capitol Hill for so long. Why can't there be a Thunderbolt III ? With stealth, miniaturized AWACS and lighter armour ? Materials science has surely progressed since its latest iterations were made. On second thought, scratch that. A-10 vs F-35 face off |
Posted by: Dron66046 2019-09-03 14:00 |
#5 Sometimes you need a ... Specialist... if you want the job done right. |
Posted by: magpie 2019-09-03 12:09 |
#4 A big gun on your nose makes a good first impression. |
Posted by: jpal 2019-09-03 10:46 |
#3 My beloved Warthog! |
Posted by: Warthog 2019-09-03 10:44 |
#2 Someone pointed out that if the Marines have their own fixed wing air support why can't the Army? (Insert all the bureaucratic self serving and self rationalizing malarkey here) |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2019-09-03 09:59 |
#1 Hm, that should be non-WOT! |
Posted by: KBK 2019-09-03 09:55 |