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Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by redthrowaway on Thursday March 06, 2014 @01:04PM (#7355426)
>Regardless, the A-10 is an anachronism now

True

>Its chief advantage was its ruggedness and ability to properly explore the battlefield when attacking

Well, not really. While those are both big advantages it enjoys, its chief advantage and the mission is was designed for was that it carries enough ordinance to stop a Soviet tank column rolling into Germany in its tracks.

The A-10 is absolutely overkill for any modern CAS mission, and the airframes are simply 40 years old. Extending their life is only a temporary solution; they'll have to be replaced sooner or later. When they are replaced, there really isn't much of an argument for building a direct replacement instead of farming its various roles out to other platforms {hang and wait: predator, strike: f-35, CAS: Apache}

Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by jessaustin on Thursday March 06, 2014 @01:24PM (#7355575)
...it carries enough ordinance to stop a Soviet tank column...

If we don't need them there would probably be some interested parties in Eastern Europe right about now...

Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by stackcollision on Thursday March 06, 2014 @03:10PM (#7356255)
And that's how the US Air Force became Rent-A-Warthog.
Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by Uhhrrr on Thursday March 06, 2014 @03:59PM (#7356539)
It's like Uber for ground-attack aircraft!
Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by chernevik on Thursday March 06, 2014 @07:35PM (#7357614)
Uber Alles
Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by redthrowaway on Thursday March 06, 2014 @07:12PM (#7357496)
Just don't tell Bloomberg.
Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by Pxtl on Thursday March 06, 2014 @01:36PM (#7355649)
Well, I meant in recent engagements. I mean, how many times was the A-10 actually used to attack a Soviet tank-column vs. gunning down a bunch of poor guys with AKs hiding in light cover?
Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by dylanrw on Friday March 07, 2014 @05:49AM (#7359538)
Maybe not soviet, but it sure racked up an insane count & ratio on Iraqi columns:

Destroying: - more than 1,000 tanks - 1,200 artillery pieces - 2,000 other military vehicles Confirmed kills include: - 967 tanks - 926 artillery pieces - 1,306 trucks - 501 armored personnel carriers - 28 command posts - Successfully hunted and destroyed SCUD missiles - Suppressed enemy air defenses - Attacked early warning radars

Those numbers to 5 losses in Desert Storm alone...

Re:Dark spot under cockpit of A-10s by Turing_Machine on Thursday March 06, 2014 @02:33PM (#7356019)
Well, none. Deterrence, dude.