A-10 versus B-1 CAS

[sinjefe]

He just got caught stating what the rest of the USAF "leadership" really believes.

[Streck-Fu]

Regarding CAS, the retirement of the A-10, a proposed replacement for that capability in the F-35......

Can a F-35 cancellation benefit the AF? Looking at the Army cancellation of the Comanche, yes. LINK

Commitment to the F-35 makes every one of these issues worse, not
only because the aircraft itself will not fill these gaps but also because
the required funding effectively deprives the Air Force of the resources
demanded to address them. At the heart of the disconnect lie two decades
of vision that emphasizes the “all-fifth-generation” fighter force that consists
solely of advanced low-observable fighter aircraft.

This approach, which concentrates a notional future conflict against a
peer adversary, relies heavily on the assumption that a fighter force
designed for the most intense conflicts is automatically suitable for
any contingency. The pursuit of this vision comes at a very high
opportunity cost and invites a great deal of risk, both programmatic and
operational.
.............................
In 2013, 17 fighter squadrons were grounded for lack of flying hours
while the Air Force simultaneously attempted to increase the production rate of the F-35.

The drive for large numbers of increasingly expensive F-35s has taken its toll on flying
hours and upgrades for both the legacy fleet and the F-22. Hours for fighter aviators
are roughly half of what they were in the Gulf War, placing the service’s aircrews in
the unenviable position of flying less than the Chinese and some European allies.
..............................
Pursuit of an expensive, modern, cutting-edge force has already cost us
in terms of force size, structure, flying hours, and entire areas of
expertise that we no longer have. In its quest of the F-22 and now the F-35,
the Air Force has traded away its dedicated electronic warfare (EW)
fighters, the training programs that supported them, and the EW-savvy
crews who manned them, leaving fighter EW the purview of the Navy
and Marine Corps. In light of the A-10’s impending retirement, CAS is
primed to go the same way as EW.

[The Reaper]

And they want a new bomber.

Imagine the B-2 as a baseline, and add in the monstrous cost and overruns of the F-22 and F-35 programs.

How many aircraft will have to be grounded if not retired to pay for that, given military budget cuts and sequestration?

And how many can we pay for? We stopped the B-2 and F-22 well-short of their intended buys. How many B-3s can we afford, maybe two?

TR

[abc_123]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

And they want a new bomber.

Imagine the B-2 as a baseline, and add in the monstrous cost and overruns of the F-22 and F-35 programs.

How many aircraft will have to be grounded if not retired to pay for that, given military budget cuts and sequestration?

And how many can we pay for? We stopped the B-2 and F-22 well-short of their intended buys. How many B-3s can we afford, maybe two?

TR

Maybe OSD can re-color all the money that is being saved by not issuing Yarborough knives to SFQC grads and send it to the AF so we could get 3 of them.

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by abc_123

Maybe OSD can re-color all the money that is being saved by not issuing Yarborough knives to SFQC grads and send it to the AF so we could get 3 of them.

Not in their DNA sir. They wouldn't consider that savings; it's a "cost-avoidance" which has a different set of playtime rules & just gets people stars & bonuses (unless their rater has stock in the company).

[GratefulCitizen]

Guessing this is welcome news in this forum.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/m...ayed/78747114/

[Hand]

“It appears the administration is finally coming to its senses and recognizing the importance of A-10s to our troops’ lives and national security," Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., said in a statement Wednesday in response to the news reports. McSally is a retired colonel who served 26 years in the Air Force and was the first female pilot to fly in combat.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., another A-10 advocate, echoed McSally's sentiments.

"With growing global chaos and turmoil on the rise, we simply cannot afford to prematurely retire the best close air support weapon in our arsenal without fielding a proper replacement," he said in a statement.

People talking sense. I feel strange reading that. I think a chill ran up my leg.

This is very good news.

[PSM]

McSally is my Rep and has a solid "F" from Conservative Review. The A-10 seems to be her only issue (which is fine with me, but she is hated in the A-10 community and her name is not spoken.

Also, she has never corrected this lie:

and was the first female pilot to fly in combat.

She may have been the first AF fighter pilot to fly in combat, but she was not the first woman. I believe that that was Major Rossi-Cayton, KIA in the 1st Gulf War in '91.

Pat

[DIYPatriot]

Originally Posted by PSM

McSally is my Rep and has a solid "F" from Conservative Review. The A-10 seems to be her only issue (which is fine with me, but she is hated in the A-10 community and her name is not spoken.

Also, she has never corrected this lie:



She may have been the first AF fighter pilot to fly in combat, but she was not the first woman. I believe that that was Major Rossi-Cayton, KIA in the 1st Gulf War in '91.

Pat

Admittedly, my USAF history is about as proficient as my understanding of quantum entanglement, but I was curious if any of the WW2 "Wasps" ever flew outside CONUS. I can't easily research at the moment. Do you happen to know?

[PSM]

Originally Posted by DIYPatriot

Admittedly, my USAF history is about as proficient as my understanding of quantum entanglement, but I was curious if any of the WW2 "Wasps" ever flew outside CONUS. I can't easily research at the moment. Do you happen to know?

They ferried aircraft to England (and probably even to Hawaii and Alaska) but they didn't fly in combat.

Pat

[DIYPatriot]

Originally Posted by PSM

They ferried aircraft to England (and probably even to Hawaii and Alaska) but they didn't fly in combat.

Pat

Roger - thanks, Pat!