Posted on Mar 10, 2015
GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad
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The impending mothballing of the A-10 has prompted outrage among its advocates in the active duty military, hand-wringing on Capitol Hill, and questions from analysts about whether the new F-35 can be operated cheaply enough to support ground troops on a regular basis.

But is has also sparked a question: Which plane could the U.S. military adopt if it ultimately decides it needs a new, designated plane to provide close air support?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/03/09/these-planes-could-someday-replace-the-a-10-if-the-pentagon-spends-the-cash/?tid=HP_more?tid=HP_more
Posted in these groups: Defense large A-10Usaf logo Air Force
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CH (MAJ) Graduate Student
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There is no replacement for the A-10. Having served alongside the infantry and having been in heavy contact with the enemy, there was nothing more reassuring than the sound of an A-10 unleashing on the enemy. They are built for air to ground fire support and rarely if ever miss their target. There is no other platform that provides that kind of reliability.
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LTC Self Employed
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1LT William Clardy
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How about something Georgian, like the SU-25KM?

It's not as big and stout as a Warthog, but it's a lot closer to it in design philosophy than any of the "alternatives" touted in the WaPo article.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAszf4XPTFo
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MAJ Terry LaFrance
MAJ Terry LaFrance
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Guess they wanted to get away from the NATO code name Flanker
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SPC David Hannaman
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#FacePalm They've been talking about retiring the A-10 for the last 25 years... still no equal.
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LTC Self Employed
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SPC David Hannaman
SPC David Hannaman
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LTC (Join to see) - A few thoughts as I watch this:
1. Everyone there admits that there isn't an air frame that can match capability, so why is it open for discussion until a true improvement has been developed and tested?
2. The subject of cost keeps coming up, $4B for 5 years, the F-35 seems to be the closest to being a replacement (debatable, it's not "Hardened" to allow a pilot to linger in Close air support) at $104 Million a copy, but we keep cutting the number of those we're buying. We built 700+ A-10's for around $20 Million each... Seems like the most cost efficient route is to fire up the A-10 assembly line and build some new planes...

Typical case IMO of the Brass wanting "Shiny and new" the guys getting shot at just want something that @#$%ing works, and the politicians chasing their tail around in circles.
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SPC David Hannaman
SPC David Hannaman
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We're starting to forget the lessons of Vietnam... fast Jets aren't effective at close air support, Helicopters don't get there fast enough.
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