USAF considering O/A-10 CAS replacement

[chopper2004]

Air Force considering A-10 replacement for future close air support - 2/13/2015 - Flight Global

Cheers

[Deepest Norfolk]

The best replacement would be a new A-10

DN

[Buster Hyman]

Just throw more money at the F-35 and create a G/A variant.

[Lima Juliet]

Cessna Scorpion...



...$20M a copy and $3,000 an hour to fly.

LJ

[ehwatezedoing]

Ah yes but can it take the same battle beating as an A10 ?

[Buster Hyman]

Looks like one burst from the GAU-8 would shake it apart.

[Rotate too late]

Is there really any problem with having something that is a one trick pony, but, actually does that particular trick bloody well. Don't forget, the A10 guys do the CSAR OSC as part of their bread and butter, and their PODs with downlink are as good as any for ISTAR for the guys on the ground. Having been in the overhead when they "have a chat with Terry" that gun scares the sh!t out of me, Lord knows what it's like at the other end! And as has been already pointed out, this aircraft is designed to take a kicking. And yes I am a fan.....big time.

RTL

[Lima Juliet]

I think the Scorpion team are offering a GAU/22 gun pod - General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems - Template

It still frighten the crap out of me if I was laying in the dirt!

LJ

[ORAC]

Rutan Ares Mudfighter

[Rhino power]

When I read the following sentence in the Flight Global link...

The air force has said it cannot afford to continue operating what officials consider a single-mission aircraft.

I immediately thought of this!



-RP

[Martin the Martian]

Comments on this, gents?

At What Point Does The USAF's War Against The A-10 Become Sabotage?

[Rotate too late]

RP

COULDNT AGREE MORE!!!! Maybe their Airships could find a better way of putting this across?

RTL

[Pontius Navigator]

MtM, and before that, an F15 aimed at and hit the manned quadrant tower on our air weapons range, more recently a Tornado aimed at the same tower and got close. I am not aware of a similar A10 issue.

[Finnpog]

Interesting link MtheM

[Turbine D]

The best replacement would be a new A-10

But, only after spending 3-5 years and billions of $$$s can the quoted conclusion be reached. And that is dependent on study data furnished by the USAF not being fudged to influence or even derail the outcome…

[GreenKnight121]

Originally Posted by Pontius Navigator

I am not aware of a similar A10 issue.

Apparently, you didn't read this thread from June of last year, in which I mentioned:

Like the following examples of superior CAS by A-10s?
Desert Storm:
A-10 strafes U.S.Marine OP in Khafji (daytime) (4 dead)
A-10 Strafes U.S.Marine Convoy for 4 passes (daytime)
A-10 shoots U.S. Marine LAV with Maverick (daytime) 7 dead
Washingtonpost.com: Fog of War - Post Archive (I know a Marine who was with that unit at that time)
A-10 attacks British Marines convoy of Warrior vehicles (9 dead)

Iraqi Freedom:
A-10 attacks British Blues & Royals Warrior vehicles (daytime) (1 killed 5 wounded)
A-10 attacks U.S. Marine AAV (daytime) (up to 10 dead - 18 killed, some by Iraqis, some by A-10, and some by both. In the end only 1 was A-10 only, and that is the only "official" BoB fatality)
Friendly Fire Marred Iraq 'Battle' - CBS News
A-10s (2) attack NATO forces, killing 1 Canadian soldier

And the point is, that when you look at the list of "friendly-fire" incidents, the A-10 leads with more incidents than any other platform in the same wars.

So no, the A-10 is not some magic infallible perfect aircraft.

[tdracer]

It's been far from a secret that the USAF hates the A-10 - they have since it's inception but have been unable to get rid of it because it keeps demonstrating that IT WORKS! 30 years ago the USAF was claiming they didn't need the A-10, that the F-16 with anti-tank missiles could do the same mission. Except of course it's been repeatedly demonstrated in the sand box that they couldn't. Does anyone really believe that the single engine F-35 is going to be more effective at close air support than the A-10? After all, stealth doesn't matter that much when the guy shooting at you has visual lock!!!!

GreenKnight - the A-10 is dedicated to close air support - it wouldn't exactly be unexpected that an airplane dedicated to CAS would have a higher rate of friendly fire incidents compared to aircraft that seldom do CAS (by the way did you bother to read Martin the Martian's link?)

But the part that really gets to me is that Boeing - who has been manufacturing new wings to re-wing the A-10 - recently received a contract extension to manufacture another ~100 wing kits. Does the USAF left hand have any clue what the right hand is doing, with my tax dollars?

[Willard Whyte]

So no, the A-10 is not some magic infallible perfect aircraft.

Were the pilots asleep at the tme of these 'blue-on-blue' incidents then?

[ORAC]

It's been far from a secret that the USAF hates the A-10 - they have since it's inception but have been unable to get rid of it because it keeps demonstrating that IT WORKS!

More on the line of a good negotiating gambit when budget cuts come around. The A10 Mafia always find some more money to save it.

We have to cut the A-10, to save the KC-10 fleet....

We have to cut the A-10, to save the C-5A fleet....

We have to cut the A-10, to save the B-1 fleet....

We have to cut the A-10, to save the etc....

At the end of the day more cash is found, the A-10 is saved, as are the other assets proposed to be cut.

[BillHicksRules]

Rhino Power,

CSAR with an A-10?

I can understand the CS bit but not the R!!

Where do the rescued sit?