The Detroit Free Press: Military spending cuts could affect A-10 aircraft fleet at Selfridge
Yes, they want to retire the most effective ground-support aircraft we've got, and replace it with the unproven F-35 "one-bird-for-all-missions-master-of-none". The not yet ready for prime time F-35, I might add.
Between the excellent payload capacity, loiter time, ability to go low-and-slow and that monster 30 mm Gatling gun, The A-10 is close air support personified.
And they want to get rid of it because CAS isn't a very sexy mission and instead have F-35 jets do it.
Now the F-35 has less loiter time and also costs about ten times as much per aircraft (around $13 million per A-10 compared to $133 million per F-35 aircraft and the cost keeps rising), and we likely won't be able to afford enough of them for the F-35 to be available to perform all the missions for which it is tasked.
You'd think they'd want to keep the A-10s in place at least until the F-35 is a proven quantity and is shown to do the CAS role better than the A-10. As if.
Does anyone really think getting rid of the A-10 is a good idea at this juncture?
2 comments:
Give the A10 to the Army, end the F35 debacle and carry on.
What Jay said.
If possible, let the Marines have some A-10s too. I'd be willing to bet they'd know what to do with them.
The F-35 is a POS. The USAF has embarrassed me again.
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