Considering that the A-10 represent 10% of all the fixed-wing manned aircraft that you mentioned I would say that 15% is quite good.

10%? Factoring in the number of available A-10s compared to the number of Vipers, Eagles, Hornets, Harriers, Bones, BUFFs, Mirages, Apaches, Cobras, Spectres, etc, I would think 10% is…

That's it's problem. It's useful for only one purpose. There are other platforms that can, and have being performing the same mission and for quite some time now. The A-10 only accounts for 15% of all CAS missions flown, the rest are taken up by F-series, B-1Bs, B-52s, attack helicopters and allied fighters (ie -…

Thanks for reminding me of the A-26. I also left out the F-100, F-4, F-15E, F-16, B-52, B-1B and probably more.

That's the trick, clear weather's not a guarantee, but that doesn't change the fact that CAS will still be needed. GPS guided munitions coupled with JTACs and AESA radar allow our assets the ability to operate in less than favorable weather conditions. The F-15E - a great day/night attack strike fighter - has an…

The A-10 can't. Once that missile's hit it, the master caution light turns on and the pilot has to decide if he/she can limp it back home or if they need to eject.

His/her wingman will likely engage the threat, but that could be said of the F-15/-16/-35/-AV-8, etc.

I have to disagree. Information dominance is hardly a guarantee and you never know when the Shatner's going to hit the fan. There will always be a need for CAS assets that can provide accurate and timely firepower and that can survive a high threat environment to get to where they're needed.

I don't like the F-35 for…

"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this discussion board is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have…

Big gun go ZZZRRRRRRRR.

30mm overcompensation.

Even if that A-10 makes it home, you've got to divert manpower away from turning around the aircraft that are fully functional to keep them in the battle towards repairing the shot up ones (assuming they're still airworthy). Plus you're still down however many aircraft that are damaged, so your other aircraft are…

Yup. The F-16XL was great (IDK why FA won't write about it instead of going on and on about how the A-10 is the second coming - maybe the author's got a lot of stock in Northrop-Grumman? Who knows....), but the F-15 airframe with the proposed Fuel And Sensor Tactical (FAST) Packs (which evolved into the CFTs associate…

Yup. It's even written on the side of the Gun Pod.

"Meanwhile the Army is looking to move away from the fighter jocks unwillingness to provide proper CAS with the Future Vertical Lift program."

Dry that out and I can fertilize my lawn with it.

June 26, 2012 (by Chrissy Cuttita) - Team Eglin's military flying community, its leaders, family and local supporters gathered…

Only 15% of CAS missions these days are flown by A-10s. The remaining 85% are flown by F-15Es, F-16s, F/A-18s, AV-8s, B-52s and B-1Bs using ROVER and AH-64s and AH-1s.

Stories of the USAF trying to get rid of the A-10 for 30 years are B.S.
- Congress questioned the A-10 in the late 70s, not the Air Force.
- In the late…

No; that's F-15B 71-0291 that was used in the Enhanced Tactical Fighter (later renamed the Dual-Role Fighter (DRF) competition) back in the early 80s against the GD F-16XL to replace the F-111. That was the only F-15 to have been finished in the green/green/gray "European 1" scheme.

A-10s don't have any range endurance advantages. Red Flag Alaska just wrapped up two weeks ago and the Hogs failed miserably. Either they couldn't see their targets or they didn't have enough gas to do their jobs.

I'd like to see an A-10 get hit with a MANPAD get turned around and back into the fight within a couple of…

That was true forty years ago, but not today. The A-10 was designed to support the Army's doctrine at the time to stop Soviet tanks rolling through Germany. This meant direct contact with invading forces supported by tracked ZSU anti-aircraft guns. A-10 pilots learned that standoff weapons such as the AGM-65 Maverick…

Amen. Red Flag Alaska just wrapped up a couple weeks back and the A-10s were useless. Either they couldn't see their targets or they didn't have the gas to complete their missions. Oh, and let's not forget that they're so damn slow that:

1. They extended the mission duration by a half hour, meaning the timing was…

Export of the F-22 was blocked by Congress. The USAF wanted Japan to have F-22s (especially since the USAF's own Raptor fleet was cut back). Australia was interested in the F-22 too.

GM: Too big to fail, too big to succeed.

MOARLITNINGZ