Posted on Mar 8, 2016
Should the A-10 Warthog be flown by Army Pilots since the Air Force does not care for it and Senator McCain sees through the AF b.s.?
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Senator McCain again grilled the Air Force Chief of Staff on the lack of a good replacement. The plane should be kept in service and flown by Army Aviatiors, Guard and Reserve, who often have commercial jet pilot experience already. The price of the F-35/F-16/F-18 is like comparing the price of a Bentley vs a Dodge Challenger Hellcat that can do the job better for a fraction of the price. Keeping the A-10s will save lives. Keep the extra ones not used in Guam or Diego Garcia ready for use. Put some in England to protect NATO. Hire retired air force A-10 veterans or Air Guard mechanics to fix them. If a 1950s B-52 is being kept until 2040, why not keep a 1970s A-10 around just as long? Makes sense to any Army Soldier or Marine who prefers an armored plane vs an unarmored fast mover that can't see you very well! Senator McCain and Congresswoman McSally should pursue having every single A-10 air frame out of Davis-Montham and be rebuilt to the C-model modern tank killer just like the Army rebuilds their tanks at Anniston Army Depot and makes them M1A2s. I doubt two F-16s today can destroy 32 Iraqi tanks in less than 90 minutes like the two A-10 Alpha models like did in Desert Storm back in 1991. If it works, don't fix it! Air Force, we love you, we just beg you to keep an effective weapon that Army and Marines love! I am an admirer of Air Force as a whole. http://www.stripes.com/news/mccain-lambasts-air-force-chief-of-staff-over-a-10-in-islamic-state-fight-1.397359
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Edited >1 y ago
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Responses: 37
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Col Joseph Lenertz
Capt Seid Waddell , yes, just like the Buffs, C-130s and tankers. The 40 wing AF is gone, and we could not re-create Desert Storm with what we have today.
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Capt Seid Waddell
Col Joseph Lenertz, agreed. We almost were unable to do it then as the A-10 was on the way to the scrap yard before the war broke out - when it showed its value on the battlefield.
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Capt (Join to see)
Sir,
These airplanes at DM are well past their service life/funding. They are kept for pieces and parts that are no longer manufactured. We in the maintenance field do not have enough maintainers to go around to do what you are proposing and honestly no country would want to invest in a airplane such as the A-10. All of the countries you listed all want the F-16.
These airplanes at DM are well past their service life/funding. They are kept for pieces and parts that are no longer manufactured. We in the maintenance field do not have enough maintainers to go around to do what you are proposing and honestly no country would want to invest in a airplane such as the A-10. All of the countries you listed all want the F-16.
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LTC (Join to see)
Despite 2022 deadline, Air Force wants A-10 squadrons to go away sooner
Even with 2022 deadline, Air Force wants A-10 squadrons to fizzle out sooner
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Here's the big problem that the Army would face: sustainability. As great as these are for CAS, they're old jets. The older the jet, the more hours flown, means the more the work in maintenance and cost in parts to keep them in the air. Granted while the Army has a large budget, what current programs, personnel, and commands that would need to be cut to take these on? What other ratings and training would Army pilots require IOT fly these? There is no simple answer to this question. Any USAF A-10 maintainers/MOs around that can help put this in perspective?
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CW2 Jo Alistair
Well..... I see you are in the USMC. What is your attack helicopter airframe again? The AH-1??? How old is that airframe?
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SSgt (Join to see)
So the AH-1 Cobra has been around since 1967. The Army retired their fleet in 1999, reserves in 2001. The twin engines were introduced in 1971 and upgraded in 1986.
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SSgt (Join to see)
The AH-1Z Viper, based off of the AH-1 SuperCobra, has been around since 2010. The SuperCobra, AH-1W, has been around since 1986. Those birds are subject to different stresses to fixed wing aircraft, and have their own requirements to meet. What does that have to do with the employment and sustainability of A-10s by a service other than the USAF?
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Air Force is run by FIGHTER pilots and has a general distain for the CAS role. Always has.
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SSgt Donnavon Smith
The striking difference is with Marines, Marine Aviators wear camouflage helmet covers to show solidarity with the guys on the ground. This to me shows (at least on the surface) that the marines have the correct ideas about the need for CAS.
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LTC (Join to see)
SSgt Donnavon Smith - and the USAF pilots don't go with the Marines on the ground anytime in their career like the Marine Pilots do so there is no bond. My retired COL friend here on RP told me his cav squadron of cobras, loches and huey gunships did care about his men and when they got the mission they did their best to be there ASAP and sometimes even flew and night and they were not instrument rated. The Army, once they get the A-10s, should do that and put the pilots on the ground some time in their career as FACs( forward air controllers) and give them the bond the Marine pilots have with their client units. The Army aviators should follow the tradition of the USMC and wear a camo cover over their helmets!
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MSG Louis Alexander
All services not necessary the Air Force need to agree what’s good for those ground forces who face the death and carnage on the ground nose to nose. It’s easy to talk shyt from the air or from behind a desk, it’s when you’re staring death eyeball to eyeball that reality hits home. I wouldn’t give two shyts in hell how much it cost to keep up… so as long as my back and yes sometimes my front is covered by a rain of fire. Until you experience that…don’t self-righteously jump to how much it’s going to cost and who if anyone will benefit. Keep the fleet, train the personnel and help save some lives!
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