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Iraq, "low threat engagement"? Seriously?I love the A10 as much as the next person but we need to be honest with ourselves in low threat engagements like in Iraq or Afghanistan it does well but in a peer on peer conflict it's a death trap and with the prevalence of Manpads and other AA systems they wouldn't last a month.
It always has, although here is something many aren't aware of: A-10 pilot's curriculum includes what's called "Basic Fighter Maneuvers" - in essence, this means how to dogfight. And the pilots go through refresher courses with the latest updates.It'll need top-cover, and that will complicate matters. On the whole I'd do it if I'm Ukrainian. It'll hurt the Russians more than the Ukrainians, I think.
Iraq, "low threat engagement"? Seriously?
Thr Iraqi military was Soviet trained and supplied, they put up fierce resistance in the early stages of Desert Storm.
Quite a few A-10s were battle damaged and survived.
In a "peer to peer" engagement (for which they were designed, by the way), their engines run cooler, are mounted high and partially obscured by the empennage, making a "lock" extremely difficult.
It has redundant control systems that doubles it's ability to absorb damage and stay in the fight.
It has enhanced and protected fuel and hydraulic systems that reduce the possability of fire due to damage.
It has upgraded and enhanced ECM systems and the list goes on.
It was literally designed for what's currently happening in Ukraine and is far from a "death trap".
It always has, although here is something many aren't aware of: A-10 pilot's curriculum includes what's called "Basic Fighter Maneuvers" - in essence, this means how to dogfight. And the pilots go through refresher courses with the latest updates.
So if an A-10 finds itself in trouble with no help immediately available, it can stand and fight.
Aside from it's wicked turn radius, it is armed with two AIM-9 missiles for self defence and if that fails, they will bring the cannon into the fight.
So the enemy has to make a decision, do they try and get into an energy depleting turning fight and run the risk of facing that cannon or do they try and do a stand off shot, to which the A-10's cooler engines and countermeasures make difficult, and get targeted by the 22 mile range AIM-9 for the effort?
So contrary to popular beleif, the A-10 is not helpless.
I guess that settles that.
You bring out many if not all the variables in this discussion that has been going on for several years, but one thing that always perplexes me; when having the discussion about CAS we always seem to forget that an A/OA-10, F-16 or F-35 or for that matter any fix wing aircraft is not the only platform that can perform CAS,Incidentally, I have 2 friends who were part of FIST and FAC teams when they were in the Army. Their experience says that a high(er) performance airframe flying a mission profile at high altitude with stand-off PGM is only acceptable as a substitute for the A/OA-10 airframe at low altitude if:
1. You are unable/unwilling to take losses in CAS airframes.
2. You are operating in a low(er) intensity/threat environment, and then only if you are willing to trade potentially higher losses of ground forces for lower losses of airframes, with the consequent increase in chances of losing the battle on the ground.
You bring out many if not all the variables in this discussion that has been going on for several years, but one thing that always perplexes me; when having the discussion about CAS we always seem to forget that an A/OA-10, F-16 or F-35 or for that matter any fix wing aircraft is not the only platform that can perform CAS,
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I don't believe it - there was no funding allocated to provide any type of training to the UAF until last week. At best, former UAF pilots might have been invited to fly simulators at the sole A-10 training unit at Davis Monthan.Saw a YouTube video earlier this week claiming a dozen or so UAF pilots, who were "retired", have been fully trained on the A-10 in the US not so long ago. Unverified, but food for thought.
The only A-10 training unit at Davis Monthan... is it sheer coincidence that as we have a thread discussing retirement of the A-10, the training unit is already co-located at "the boneyard"?I don't believe it - there was no funding allocated to provide any type of training to the UAF until last week. At best, former UAF pilots might have been invited to fly simulators at the sole A-10 training unit at Davis Monthan.
US approves amendment in defense budget to train Ukrainian pilots
The United States House of Representatives has approved an amendment for the defense budget bill for 2023 to train Ukrainian pilots on F-15 and F-16 fighter jets amid the reeling crisis in Ukrainewww.business-standard.com
I don't believe it - there was no funding allocated to provide any type of training to the UAF until last week. At best, former UAF pilots might have been invited to fly simulators at the sole A-10 training unit at Davis Monthan.
US approves amendment in defense budget to train Ukrainian pilots
The United States House of Representatives has approved an amendment for the defense budget bill for 2023 to train Ukrainian pilots on F-15 and F-16 fighter jets amid the reeling crisis in Ukrainewww.business-standard.com
They might - the last I heard all A-10 training was at "Davy Mohns"I thought Nellis had a training squadron too. I may be mistaken. I'll have to ask my buddy who is a 10 driver at Nellis.