I did not read extensively this thread, I saw some criticisms, but the A-10 is a close air support aircraft; the sky needs to be clear from the runway to the engagement area for it to do its job.
I'm not sure if this is realistic, but there was this movie made in China (English translation is "Sky Hunter") with the support of the PLAAF. My Chinese friends have said it's pretty much crap, but it's obviously a nod to Top Gun. But there are a few things that just seem odd and other stuff that may be based on other stuff. There's a brief look at the J-20, but that's not a big part other than barely showing the hardware. The Chinese pilots always have their visors up, but "foreign" fighter pilots are always faceless with their visors down. The primary fighter shown is the J-10, and they show it being used in close-air support training almost like an A-10.
Not all of this is CAS related, but I'm wondering what others might think of this portrayal.
1) [2:28] They intercept what looks like an EP-3 (no US markings though) with a couple of J-10s. Obviously based on the Hainan Island incident. However, nobody crashes and one pilot goes inverted and pulls out a small Chinese flag. There is some awkward sounding English such as "You're entering the Chinese airspace. Change course." However, the subtitles use proper grammar. The commander of the EP-3 also happens to be a woman.
2) [4:42] Then they somehow meet up with a couple of F-15s on their tails. And for some reason they claim the F-15s have locked on, but they start releasing chaff even no missile has been fired. They manage to get the upper hand with some weird flying where they fly in unison one on top of the other and manage to get on the tails of the F-15s including one guy pulling off a cobra maneuver for some reason. When one gets behind the F-15s start releasing chaff and flares. Then they drop their centerline fuel tanks before bolting. That scene reminded me of Air Force One where F-15s do that.
3) All the pilots and commanders walk around wearing bomber jackets for some reason, even during briefings.
4) They use a fictional country called Mahbu, where Chinese military are providing training to their military but terrorists (led by a rogue member of their military) take over a base with hostages. It's also really odd because the people in their military have vastly different accents speaking English. Some sound middle eastern, while others sound eastern European, English, or American.
5) [44:02] They show close-in air support training where the mission commander ordered the ground laser guidance cut off. And the pilot makes another pass where he uses his cannon at a tank.
6) [52:48] One pilot evades a SAM for about 50 seconds (wasn't that a problem in Behind Enemy Lines?) until the missile hits the side of a mountain. Later on his commander is blinded and somehow another pilot voice guides him back to their base. That seemed a bit unrealistic.
7) [1:39:10] Not sure what's happening other than one pilots intentionally rams into an enemy aircraft. chopping off the front, but with heavy damage to his own plane. After that stunt his canopy starts cracking, and it sounds like it's glass.
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