A-10 "Warthog", selected for Pentagon cancellation, gets a reprieve

S

sear

serene
A-10 "Thunderbolt" / "Warthog", selected for Pentagon cancellation, gets an indefinite reprieve
U.S.
The US Air Force has embraced reality - the A-10 is here to stay ‘indefinitely'

After years of threatening to cut funding to the A-10 program and funnel the money to the newer F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Air Force seems to have finally faced facts - the A-10 is just too effective to get rid of. Air Force Materiel Command chief Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski recently told AviationWeek that the depot line that maintains and repairs the Air Force's 283 A-10s has been reopened to full capacity. “They have re-geared up, we’ve turned on the depot line, we’re building it back up in capacity and supply chain,” said Pawlikowski. “Our command, anyway, is approaching this as another airplane that we are sustaining indefinitely.” This move echoes the sentiments of many, many people ...

source: Business Insider
Click to expand...
"Many, many people" including me.

eec255844668817d9ec7c8ab045b4d4fe9efbf6.JPG

The A-10 is excellent bang for the $buck.

- I'm all for fiscal responsibility!
- I'm all for balanced budgets, and paying off our near $20 $Trillion $debt.
- So cutting deficit spending is a high priority for me. And Pentagon spending is a gargantuan portion of the U.S. federal budget.
- But the A-10 is loved by our ground troops it supports in combat, as much as its hated by the enemy it destroys in so doing.

Long live the frugal A-10!
 
There was/is a Mod on here known variously as Billy Barstool or Cap'n Billy who was a Marine. He was always vehemently against the A-10 and got very pissed off if anybody advocated its continuance. So this news should cause him to go postal. It would cost a fraction of the enormous sums poured into the F-35 to upgrade the A-10 to have up to date avionics and radars.
 
Thanks M2.

I hope I'll have an opportunity to thank the Captain for his service.

I paid close attention when the Secretary of Defense announced the reasoning behind the initial announcement of the cancellation of the A-10 program.
And yes. He did say the F-35 could do everything the A-10 could.

BUT !!

Can the F-35 do them all as well?

Sure. The A-10 is not stealthy.

BUT !!

How much radar does ISIL use?

Does the F-35 locate the pilot in a titanium bathtub?

I don't know why this site shrinks the graphics I post to sub-postage stamp size.
But the actual graphic I posted in #1 shows what a fantastic bargain the A-10 is; cheaper to fly per hour than just about any pilot-aboard bird in our arsenal. It's a bar-graph, so you can get the picture without reading the labels.
 
sear said:
A-10 "Thunderbolt" / "Warthog", selected for Pentagon cancellation, gets an indefinite reprieve

"Many, many people" including me.

The A-10 is excellent bang for the $buck.
Click to expand...

.....At least, in desert-areas.....where they have plenty of room to hug-the-ground....until they've PASSED (and, shredded) their intended-target(s)!!!!!!

I was working a contract, at Lockheed-Martin (Upstate NY), when I first saw a cross-section of that plane; a pretty-amazing piece o' machinery!!!

It wasn't until my next contract, North of Philly (a company that developed manual flight-and-engine controls, for helicopters)....when I'd first experienced a (low) Hog fly-over (a pair o' them). Ya' never (even) HEARD the "thunder", until they'd PASSED you!! Whatta handy lil' item, when sneaking-up-behind heavy-metal, in the desert!!!

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/04/09/air-force-looking-to-replace-a-10-warthog/


 
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