EA-18G "Growler"Woody,

It goes almost without saying that one of the Drumstick's finest attributes was as a carrier-capable long-legged flying dump truck.

And playing the "what might have been" along with you, the switch to weps that give platforms "targets per sortie" capabilities (versus the "sorties per target" days of the VN war) would further magnify the "dump truck" honorific.

With the air attack emphasis in the current conflict moving increasingly toward smaller, high-accuracy weps (take out the shed in the back of the third house in the block, instead of the entire block), the potential A-6 loadout approaches the old 28 weps-on-5-MERS configuration (and your FAC(A) scenario, minus the comparatively-inaccurate rockets). Further, this hypothetical begs the reintroduction of the A-6 into a USMC-style shore-based expeditionary usage. With no need to lug to/from the boat, more drop tanks are switched out for MERs.

Certainly a change from the days of "take out the center tank in the first row of the POL complex" and pray that your system didn't go squirrelly, taking your run over Uncle Ho's Happy Peoples' Convalescent Hospital & SAM Warehouse, or some other McNamara-forbidden target.

ISTR that a MK82 JDAM is in the works, or maybe already deployed, n'est-ce pas?

--
Mike Kanze

"There's no such thing as a soul. It's just something they made up to scare kids, like the boogeyman or Michael Jackson."

- Bart Simpson

"Doug "Woody" and Erin Beal" wrote in message ...
Hey, one more thing.

I found myself wondering a couple of years ago how much more successful we could have been in the recent conflict if we would have still had the mighty thunderpig?

An Intruder with a smart MER or TER that was JDAM capable could have carried a decent load of 10-12 JDAM easily-provided we'd have fielded the SWIP Block 1A upgrades.

In March-April 2003, Hornets were flying around with 2-4 bombs on parent stations. Imagine the striking power of the A-6 armed to the teeth with JDAM!

--Woody

On 11/13/05 5:55 PM, in article , "Mike Kanze" wrote:


Woody,

Of course, it?s academic now, but rockets would have made the A-6 a pretty decent FAC(A) platform.

Again, no argument here.

My point remains, though. Unless there's NOTHING else available, why tie up a system-centric weapon (like the A-6 was) in a mission where the only "system" needed is the MK1 eyeball and its owner's ability to successfully prosecute a rocket attack?

The "NOTHING else available" qualifier goes almost without saying. It's why we carried and trained with FFARs ad even Sidewinders occasionally, it's why the A-6 community fooled around with the SSSC mission in the mid-1970s (backup for the Hoovers in the very new and then-unproven CV airwing concept), it's why we hung buddy stores on A-7 wing parent stations, etc. It's also why the Tom became an attack platform, as you point out.

IOW, good to know that you had the capability, but not something you should do as a normal course of business.

Hey, let the SLUFs have a bit of fun, too.