A-10 Warthog to be retired by USAF (maybe)

[Loachman]

The pilots,ground controllers and communications have gotten alot better over time.

Then they were posted and new guys had to start learning the lessons all over again.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Several FF deaths have been due to poor or incomplete instructions from Ground Based controllers.

  Also the report is clearly not very complete - as more have died from JDAM's off B-52, and B1B than the A-10 number, which seems to have conveniently been ignored.

Surely you can't believe they stooped to twisting the stats to poison the reputation of the biggest threat to their anointed one?  8)

 

[tomahawk6]

A-10 pilot decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for drawing fire away from troops under enemy fire.Nice job Major Parvin and Captain Cavazos !!

http://www.moody.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123437789

 

[CougarKing]

A-10s headed to Eastern Europe as well:

Military.com

US Deploys A-10s to Europe Amid Debate to Arm Ukraine

Feb 10, 2015 | by Brendan McGarry
The U.S. military has deployed a dozen Cold War-era A-10 attack aircraft to Europe amid the escalating assault from pro-Russian separatists in the Ukraine, an official said.
The aircraft, known officially as the Thunderbolt II and unofficially as the Warthog, on Monday departed Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona for Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, according to Lt. Col. Christopher Karns, a spokesman for the Air Force at the Pentagon.

"While in Germany these aircraft will forward-deploy to locations in Eastern European NATO nations," he said in an e-mail. "Units will conduct training alongside our NATO allies to strengthen interoperability and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the security and stability of Europe."

The deployment comes as President Barack Obama is weighing whether to approve the transfer of weapons in addition to non-lethal assistance to Ukraine.

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[CougarKing]

The planned successor to the A-10?

Defense News

ACC Head: Follow-On to A-10 Aircraft Possible

ORLANDO, Fla. — A future close air support-specific platform to replace the A-10 remains a possibility, the head of Air Combat Command said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Air Force is planning a joint-service summit in March to work out options for the mission, frequently referred to as CAS.

"We're thinking about it," Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, told reporters at the Air Force Association Air Warfare symposium here when asked about a future close air support system that could replace the venerable Warthog.

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[CougarKing]

News on A-10s at AMARC:

Military.com

Air Force to Bench 9 of Davis-Monthan's A-10s

The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson | Mar 02, 2015 | by David Wichner

The Air Force said Friday it will put nine A-10 Thunderbolt II jets at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on backup inventory status, shifting resources including maintenance personnel to the next-generation F-35 stealth fighter at other bases.

D-M officials do not know yet which of the base's three flying A-10 units will be affected, or how many airmen will be affected, said Lt. Erin Ranaweera, a base spokeswoman.

The Air Force says it will convert a total of 18 combat-ready A-10s fleetwide from active units and place them into "Backup-Aircraft Inventory," or BAI, status with the possibility to convert another 18 at a later date in fiscal year 2015.

Besides the moves at D-M, the Air Force says it will mothball six A-10s at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia and three at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

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[KevinB]

Hmm - wonder how Congress will react to this one...

 

[cupper]

The way they have been going lately, They will threaten to shut down DoD, have a Chinese fire drill debating who's to blame, and the Pentagon will just keep whistling Dixie. ;D


Damn, watching US politics close up for the last 13 years has made me even more cynical than I was before moving here. :facepalm:

 

[CougarKing]

A-10s headed for Romania:

Military.com

NATO Deploys Twelve A-10s to Romania to Deter Russian Aggression
Apr 01, 2015 | by Kris Osborn
NATO has deployed 12 A-10 Warthog planes to Romania as part of a theater-security effort to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine – all while debate over whether to retire the close-air support platform rages on in Congress and the Pentagon.

"The 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron forward deployed 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and approximately 200 Airmen and support equipment from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany to Campia Turzii, Romania over the weekend," Pentagon spokesman James Brindle said.

The deployment marks the first ever deployment of A-10s to Romania, he added.

"The unit will conduct training alongside our NATO allies to strengthen interoperability and demonstrate U.S. commitment to the security and stability of Europe," Brindle explained.

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[McG]

A-10s headed for Romania:

Military.com

Those won't last long if things "go kinetic."

 

[tomahawk6]

The Vice Commander of Air Combat Command was fired for telling airmen not to talk to members of Congress.Proof once again that the Peter Principle is just not a theory. :camo:

Principlehttp://news.yahoo.com/air-force-general-reprimanded-over-10-treason-remark-153303632.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Air Force major general has been formally reprimanded and removed from his job for telling a group of officers that talking to Congress in a bid to block retirement of the A-10 Warthog amounted to "treason," the Air Force said on Friday.

An investigation of remarks by Major General James Post III, who was the vice commander of Air Combat Command, found that his words to some 300 airmen at Nellis Air Force Base on Jan. 10 may have had a "chilling effect" on some of them, convincing them not to speak with lawmakers

 

[observor 69]

Great article on the A-10 :

Saving a Plane That Saves Lives

WASHINGTON — WHEN American troops find themselves fighting for their lives, there is no better sound than an A-10, a plane officially nicknamed the Thunderbolt II but known affectionately by the troops as the Warthog, firing its enormous 30-millimeter gun at the enemy. It might not be pretty, but the A-10 is our most capable close air-support aircraft, and its arrival on the battlefield signals survival for our troops and annihilation for our enemies.

Yet over the last two years, the Obama administration and the Air Force leadership have been working overtime to mothball our entire A-10 fleet, 13 years ahead of schedule. They claim that other, newer planes can do the same job, that it’s too slow and vulnerable and that it’s too expensive.

More at link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/opinion/saving-a-plane-that-saves-lives.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region

To bad that Journeyman has made himself absent from the site. He strongly shared the opinion of this member of Congress.

 

[CougarKing]

Another article that would be smiled upon by A-10 advocates like McCain and US Congresswoman McSally:

Military.com

First Version of F-35s Won't Outdo A-10 in Battlefield Capabilities

Stars and Stripes | Apr 15, 2015 | by Travis J. Tritten
WASHINGTON -- Marine Corps pilots of the first F-35 joint strike fighters scheduled to begin flying this summer will not be able to use night vision technology or carry more than four bombs and missiles, Defense Department officials testified in the House on Tuesday.

Overall, the first variant aircraft will have a range of lingering shortcomings when it goes into operation and will not be able to best the capabilities of the 1970's era A-10 Thunderbolts it was designed to replace, according to Michael Gilmore, director of operational test and evaluation at the Defense Department.

The F-35 program began in 2001 and has since racked up nearly $400 billion in costs -- one of the most expensive and troubled Defense Department acquisition programs. It has also led to a controversial plan to retire the A-10, a close air support stalwart that many believe provides crucial cover for troops on the ground.
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[Oldgateboatdriver]

Looks like an "apple vs oranges" type of biased article to me.

The Marines don't have and don't use A-10's. They have the Harrier and their version of the F-35 should be compared to the Harrier AV-8B+ to determine if it is an improvement or not - not compared to the Warthog.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I think the VTOL version of the F-35 is truly where the model will shine, it will be a significant step up from the Harrier and pretty much in a class by itself.

 

[cupper]

But can the F-35 take the pounding that an A-10 can and a ground attack aircraft?

The A-10 was specifically designed to be able to fly it's way home after taking significant damage through redundant flight controls and other systems under a robust and heavily armored fuselage. But it was also intended to be low and slow so the design needed to be that way.

 

[Loachman]

If one can kill as many bad guys with at least the same level of accuracy while not having to sustain "significant damage" in the first place, that is more than acceptable in my view. Technology allows alternate methods of achieving the same effect.

I never expected A10s to be as effective as they claimed to be in the first place, especially having watched them lots in Germany when they were a shade under thirty years younger. They can play as much as they like in a non-threat environment, but in the face of serious modern air defences? I doubt it.

There is no need to charge pillboxes with cavalry anymore, either.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I suspect the PBI has little faith in Wunder weapons and the USAF senior staff. Getting rid of the A10's early is not a great idea, bring the F35 online, let the design settle in and the tactics develop in the real world and then decide.

 

[Loachman]

No capability should be removed before a replacement is firmly in place, but, still, what is more important - that the right people/things get killed/blown up or the means by which that is accomplished?

 

[CougarKing]

Congressmen intent on keeping the A-10s flying:

Defense News

House Authorization Would Keep A-10s Flying

WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee (HASC), for the second consecutive year, is proposing blocking the retirement of A-10 attack planes. The panel also wants to clear the Navy and Marine Corps to buy additional fighter jets.

The long-expected move was revealed Monday afternoon with the release of Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry's version of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which the full panel will mark up on Wednesday.

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