" wrote in message
ink.net...
Replacement_Tommel wrote:
In article ,
Daryl Hunt
says...


"Replacement_Tommel"

'SINVA LIDBABY
wrote in
message ...

Tell the USAF that... for awhile they wanted to get rid
rid of the
A-10 and were pushing the "A-16" - picture a F-16 in
green
camoflage with a 30mm
gatling gun pod on its center hardpoint.

CAS simply isn't something taken seriously by the USAF.

You tell the AF that.

Oh, they already know it.

"Not a pound for air to ground" as the Fighter Mafia used
to like to
say... (funny how you don't hear about a "CAS Mafia,"
huh?)

They aren't buying anymore A-10s for a good reason.

They aren't sexy enough, so the USAF just ignored it and
hoped it
would die.

Even the USAF A-10 pilots say that the USAF is ignoring the
A-10 and hoping it'll go away.

Of course. It's the end of a way of life. The A-10 owes much of it's life
to the Skyraider. Ever been "Had by a Spad?"



snip


It's mission died with the fall of the iron curtain.

As did the F-22's and the (especially) the B-2's yet the
USAF doesn't
want to drop them does it?

No, the A-10s mission really began in Desert Storm when we
found out that it could do so much more than bust tanks.
The A-10 and AH-64 make a credible team for dealing with
hardened targets like bunkers and other defense works. It
is also an outstanding weapon in Close (and I mean close)
air support of ground operations providing covering fire as
effective (maybe more effective) as artillery and is more
versatile in "Danger Close" support missions because of its
ability to fly slow enough for the pilot to properly
identify ground targets. The A-10 can fly at altitudes
where the AH-64 is not effective such as the Hindu Kush
where they could be called against caves, stone works and
other defensive positions.

And so can the F-16 in ground loadout.



The major power with the Main Battle Tanks the A-10 was
designed to
combat
can't even get the fuel to drive them anymore.

So why does the USAF want the F-22 and B-2 then? The
Russian Air
Force is a joke, and it's not bloody likely that we need
to nuke them
anytime soon...

The A-10 has a current mission and is more capable of
performing it than any other aircraft whether fixed or
rotary winged.

What mission? It's main role for Tank busting was done by Bombers.
Everything else, the F-16 and the F-18 can do with a normal load for ground
support.



And the F-16 can completely fill the role

The USAF dropped the "A-16" idea because they knew nobody
was daft
enough to buy it...

It can't fly slow enough and it can't direct gunfire
accurately enough. The numbers of "blue on blue" incidents
with F-16s should be enough to tell anyone that.

You seem to forget the number of A-10s as well. The 16 and the 18 can slow
down to 200 kts like the A-10 can and still deliver the load.



the A-10 was supposed to do (and never did).

Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Liberation?

Add Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Just Cause.
All of which have proven (at least to the US Army, US Navy
(hence A-12) and USMC that the A-10 is an excellent aircraft
with a continuing mission in Close Air Support.

You are using ground pounder PR. It's not going to save the A-10. The only
reason they use it is that it's paid for. It saves a tremendous amount of
money than buying the support equipment for the F-16. When each 10 comes
offline, a 16 more than steps up to the plate.



Life expectancy of an A-10 against almost any Mig or SU
is about 30
seconds.

The A-10 isn't a fighter, right?

Do we expect that we will be unable to provide CAP and air
superiority anytime soon?

And if we go against a Military with a decent AF, what then? Do we just
leave you ground pounders to fend for yourselves until AS can be
established? Do we leave the A-10 home until then? What happens if there
is no forward Air Fields? The Forward AFs become the Carriers (F-18) and
the AF F-16s with external tanks. The A-10 sits out of range. North Korea
is a prime example.



And why does the USAF want to keep the AC-130? It's
s-l-o-w, b-i-g,
can't fight Migs... damn that thing is WORSE than an
A-10!!!

This is typical fighter mafia mentality - look downwards,
because man
lives on the ground and not up in the clouds. It's the
ground battle
that's paramount.

Life expectancy of a F-16 all depends on the Pilots.

Life expectancy of an A-10 depends on the skill of the
Pilots as well. Or didn't you read about how they were
employed as "deep strike" aircraft in Desert Storm?

Yes, that skill was used by the Skyraiders as well. Evade or Die.