The A-10 will keep flying, no longer in danger

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http://www.defensenews.com/articles/stayin-alive-no-retirement-in-sight-for-the-a-10-and-u-2

http://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Once-at-...-424619324.html

Quote:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The A-10 Warthog attack plane is sitting pretty. It was once on the brink of forced retirement, but now the plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life.

The Warthog has been spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration's view of it as a costly extra in a time of tight budgets.

In the Pentagon budget plan sent to Congress this week, the Air Force proposes to keep all 283 A-10s flying for the foreseeable future.

Three years ago, the Pentagon proposed scrapping the fleet for what it estimated as $3.5 billion in savings over five years. Congress said no.

The following year, the military tried again but said the retirement would not be final until 2019. Congress again said no.

Moody Air Force Base is home to more than one hundred A-10 planes.


Neat!
Brrrt
I know that there was an idea thrown around to upgrade the A-10s engines with newer ones that produced about 20 percent more thrust. This would be a godsend because the A-10 needs more power to take off with a full payload in high-and-hot zones like the 'Stan.
 
Awsome news, they make nice ginny pig to test new idea .testing thing on a yf 35 is after all very expensive if mechanic do the new idea wrong
 
Nobody seriously thought that the F-35 had the low-n-slow loiter time to deliver ordnance on target for ground troops the way the A-10 has done.
 
If it ain't broke don't fix it
wink.gif
 
All the vehicule on the ground have their electrical wire bunched up (no Airgap) what are the odds that this thing has the same flaw? I would say 99% . I do hope they do test if I am right , this thing is way more durable and capable then USA military think . I didn't bother with the weapon part since that wasn't what I was checking . Anyway I m glad military mechanic will get play with these some more
 
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
All the vehicule on the ground have their electrical wire bunched up (no Airgap) what are the odds that this thing has the same flaw? I would say 99% . I do hope they do test if I am right , this thing is way more durable and capable then USA military think . I didn't bother with the weapon part since that wasn't what I was checking . Anyway I m glad military mechanic will get play with these some more
You're posting gibberish. Please stop posting gibberish in this thread. Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/stayin-alive-no-retirement-in-sight-for-the-a-10-and-u-2

http://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Once-at-...-424619324.html

Quote:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The A-10 Warthog attack plane is sitting pretty. It was once on the brink of forced retirement, but now the plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life.

The Warthog has been spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration's view of it as a costly extra in a time of tight budgets.

In the Pentagon budget plan sent to Congress this week, the Air Force proposes to keep all 283 A-10s flying for the foreseeable future.

Three years ago, the Pentagon proposed scrapping the fleet for what it estimated as $3.5 billion in savings over five years. Congress said no.

The following year, the military tried again but said the retirement would not be final until 2019. Congress again said no.

Moody Air Force Base is home to more than one hundred A-10 planes.


Neat!
Brrrt
I know that there was an idea thrown around to upgrade the A-10s engines with newer ones that produced about 20 percent more thrust. This would be a godsend because the A-10 needs more power to take off with a full payload in high-and-hot zones like the 'Stan.
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
15 years of 'weekend work' on those for me; good news for the army and marines.


yep...
 
Amazing that they are also continuing with the U-2. How old is that plane? It must be over 55 years old.
 
Originally Posted By: ET16
Amazing that they are also continuing with the U-2. How old is that plane? It must be over 55 years old.


Its the TR-1 now, or was and is in a completely different role. But yes, it's a versatile and excellent air-frame...
 
Not to be partisan here, but "the Obama Admin" wanted the A-10 gone? FFS, the U.S. AIR FORCE has wanted it gone since the Ford administration. They don't like ugly, slow and low flying things that support infantrymen and this is part of a very bitter ongoing dispute between the Army and Air force since the 1950's. (AKA the Army can't have larger fixed wing air-support aircraft but the USAF doesn't really want to field aircraft to support ground troops)...

But thank God they kept the A-10!
 
My understanding was that, for current operational theatres, with no high altitude AA threat (which of course may not always be the case in the future), they can do CAS from the safety of a high flying B52, or use a drone, and they could probably contract it out to FEDEX, Amazon or Google.

(This would resolve Army/Air Force turf wars and would probably be in line with current political doctrine.)

That might be why they want it gone.
 
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Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
All the vehicule on the ground have their electrical wire bunched up (no Airgap) what are the odds that this thing has the same flaw? I would say 99% . I do hope they do test if I am right , this thing is way more durable and capable then USA military think . I didn't bother with the weapon part since that wasn't what I was checking . Anyway I m glad military mechanic will get play with these some more

You're posting gibberish. Please stop posting gibberish in this thread. Thanks.


He's french Canadian conversing in english'ish - give him a break, OK. They think a little differently.

It's not gibberish. It's a criticism of older style wiring systems that leave units vulnerable to single point of impact => failure. It happens on ships, planes, and vehicles. Makes for ease of assembly and sometimes maintenance access, but has it's drawbacks ...
 
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I saw the A10 up close at an airforce base a couple of years before the first gulf war, and there was talk of it being scrapped in a very short time back then. I was thankful that it was still around to do it job during the first and second gulf wars. It is a rugged platform that can take some serious hits that would bring down many other aircraft and keep on flying.
 
Good. They need to keep it in inventory. It's not a high tech electronic marvel, which is why many think it outdated. I've spoken with those that fly it, without exception they all love the plane.

Naysayers indicate that it doesn't perform in the air superiority role effectively; it doesn't. But once you have air superiority the A-10 rules the earth. It is a low tech supremely effective tool for what it was designed for: ground attack. Easy maintenance and relatively inexpensive makes it a winner.
 
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