I am one of those who 'sorta' advocated the A1 on the other thread...mostly as an extreme example to make the point rather than a serious contender for reintroduction into service...although if you think about it.....
The C47/DC3 soldiers on to this day because nothing has come along that economically does the job as well....as a result it is still being used to make money, in small nice operations, 75 years after it first flew
Is CAS a small niche operation?
The Skyraider was an awesome aircraft in it's day...and if you think about it what has changed?
Honestly I think the only essential difference between Vietnam and Afghanistan is the Taleban don't have jungle to hide in....it seems as if the ground forces have even retreated into 'firebases' where they spend innordinate time defending themselves between trips out into 'indian territory'.
The deserts are widely viewed as ideal tank warefare terrain...an A1 is just a flying tank.
Is there a requirement for an incredibly tough, slowish (about as fast as a P51 btw...260+kts cruise) flying aircraft that can loiter with real intent for up to 8-10 hrs with 8000+ lbs of CAS ordinance on up to 15 different underwing hardpoints as well as 4x 20 mm cannon and several thousand rounds/gun?
Would two such aircraft orbiting over a 'firebase' in Afghanistan give the Taleban food for thought before attacking said bases?
Would two such aircraft 'escorting' ground patrols, or at least orbiting CAP style and able to be on station over a fire fight in minutes, make a huge dent in the Taleban's ability to wage their style of war effectively?
The enemy has not changed significantly in the last 30-50 yrs...they are more often than not tribesmen in sandles toting an AK47/RPG or driving an old pickup truck with a quad mounted ZSU23. How/why has the CAS mission changed?
In my view it is not about fighting the last war it is about
NOT fighting 'the next war'. Even the Cold War was
mostly fought in small, low intensity proxy wars against tribesman with AK47s and RPGs.
As SAS said above...if we ever end up at war with China it won't be a conventional war because we could never win a convention war of attrition against China. It would either be nuclear, heaven forbid, or economic (FAR MORE LIKELY)...or more likely still a rerun of the Cold War where the major powers stand off threatening each other with MAD while small, low intensity proxy wars are fought in every backwater ****hole blessed with oil or other natural resources.
Give the Army the 21st century A1. Flown by Army pilots in direct contact with the troops 'in contact'.