MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
Prior to Desert Storm the A-10 was deemed too vulnerable in combat due to its low speed. It was going to be replaced by the F-16. I talked to the officer that ran the tests on the F-16 doing the A-10 mission. It could do a fine job of defending the Officers' Club from enemy forces marshalling in the vicinity of the Base Exchange - but if the target was actually outside of the airfield traffic pattern ..... not so good.
Then Stormin' Norman said, "Get me every A-10 you got!"
The results:
Number of A-10's shot down: 4
Number of F-16's shot down: 4
Number of A-10 aircraft kills: 3
Number of F-16 aircraft kills: 0
Then Stormin' Norman said, "Get me every A-10 you got!"
The results:
Number of A-10's shot down: 4
Number of F-16's shot down: 4
Number of A-10 aircraft kills: 3
Number of F-16 aircraft kills: 0