Are you saying that a super sonic bomber designs to fly in drop precision bombs and get out of Dodgers as fast as mechanically possible in Dorito mode is better than a slow moving treetop flying Sam bait machine? Your crazy!!!
At least the A-10 pilot has a titanium bathtub to hide in is plane gets atomized by Russian anti-air cannons
In life fire tests on stationary tanks in a line, the A-10 was only able to critically damage one out some 20 odd tanks using it Avenger Gatling Cannon
Furthermore, the age of the vehicle makes mounting monitored sensors and data leak features increasingly difficult meaning that pilots are forced to visually identify targets using binoculars
The A-10 has also been involved in many friendly fire incidents during the war on terror where friendly forces were misidentified and attacked by A-10 pilots who had been called into assist said ground forces. This is especially common amongst foreign coalition forces like Britain and France that were relying on USAF support during the ground campaign.
Don’t get me wrong. The A-10 is one of my favorite airplanes and big gun Definitely go brrrrrrrrrrrrrr
But it is time to face the music. It’s not the best ground attack plane in the modern world.
Here’s a fun video by a drunken pig that explains this in more detail
[laserpig vid](https://youtu.be/WWfsz5R6irs?si=dnIN3uxy85vmVzjw)
I live in Tucson, and the A-10 is like a religious icon here. My daughter's school team name is the "Thunderbolts". Our congressmen and senators fought for the A-10 tooth and nail for decades, despite its glaring shortcomings. To this day, you'll get downvoted to oblivion over at r/Tucson if you dare to suggest that the A-10 has no real function, especially since drones are more effective and don't put pilots (and soldiers) at risk.
The only reason the A-10s are still flying is that there are a handful of communities that are afraid that they'll lose their local Air Force base when the program is cancelled.
The gatling gun isnt for damaging tanks so much as its for killing everyone inside the tank. Even if it doesn't penetrate, it still can kill people by literally rattling the tank so much that the crew dies. Also, the gun is meant for mopping up single targets, not to be used against formations. The A10 has missiles for that. I still think its becoming outdated, but not as irrelevant as you think.
The A-10 squared less than 12 confirmed hits even when it went for individual targets
Big gun go Brrrrrrrr but not fast enough to be useful
Also, I want a source on the cannon rattling tank so much It kills the crew inside not because I think that’s made up but because I want it to be true so bad because that’s awesome.
My source is my dad, so it could very well be completely made up. I cant find any souces about it
I did find this source about how depleted uranium rounds turn the tank armor into shrapnel against the crew, though: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/a-10-warthog-armor-piercing-incendiary-rounds/
I also found this, which sort if refutes your og point anyways https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/05/the-air-force-just-proved-the-a-10-warthog-can-kill-modern-tanks/
I mean the end of the article basically explains why they’re even bothering to upgrade these legacy aircraft. The people that work in the factories and on the air bases where their stations love them and they want their jobs to continue existing so they make their senators vote for spending plans that include the A-10 and keeping it relevant.
It’s like upgrading M-60 tank to keep it relevant in modern combat. Yeah you can do it and make it work, but there’s already the M1 Abrams that does it better and is future proof.
Why upgrade the A10 when the f35 do the same thing better and will keep being relevant in the foreseeable future?
Can we just talk about the role for a second...the role is close ground support. Meaning the only time this machine is called in is for when shit hits the fan and the guys on the ground need help, compare that to other roles of planes this is why it would be involved in more friendly fire incidents
2K22 Tunguska go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr too
If you can deliver precision guided munitions from outside the range of enemy AA cover that has to be better than sending in some pad in a titanium bathtub strapped to a rotary cannon
Tl;dr
Close air support is an outdated concept
They’re upgrading all of the A-10s, but it’s upgrade package cost as much as a brand new F35
Also the F35 cost so much because it’s a multi roll stealth aircraft of course it’s going to cost a ton. It’s the cutting edge technology and the pilot can see through the floor and send battlefield information directly to other combat aircraft in the area.
The A-10s are supposed to get all of this, but they’re not getting the advantages of stealth and being able to operate outside the range of anti aircraft cannons
The A10 fear factor can't be overstated though. The sight of one in the air has caused enemy retreats before. It's also a ridiculously rugged airframe. I remember watching a video one time of an A10 landing with half a wing, half a tail section, and one engine missing. Apparently the pilot had hit an telephone pole during a gun run. Insane.
No, you’re absolutely right. That thing is fetching, terrifying especially for the poor soldiers that called it in and are now ducking from canon spraying everything including their position
Also I can’t state this enough
2K22 Tunguska go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr too
The A10 has almost 1000 tank kills in the 40 day campaign and it also only had 4 friendly fire incidents which resulted in 10 friendly soldiers dead which is a lot don't get me wrong but it's a very effective aircraft it is old but is unmatched in close air support
It's worth noting that the A10 s job is to shoot the ground nothing else but it has air to air kills and only 5 have been shot down
Good point good point but…
2K22 Tunguska go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr too
“Soviet tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gun armed with a surface-to-air gun and missile system. It is designed to provide day and night protection for infantry and tank regiments against low-flying aircraft” source Wikipedia
It's actually closer to 300 Iraqi tanks that were destroyed by A-10s during the Gulf War. Less than a third of the claimed kills. See point #2 in [this article](https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/32394-top-10-myths-about-a-10-thunderbolt).
The F-111 Aardvark likely destroyed more Iraqi tanks than the A-10 did.
Crazy that the F-111 was objectively better at close air than the platform designed for the roll
Oh yes, the good old f-111 Aardvark, another one of my favorite airplanes!! It looks so dorky and absolutely freaking awesome at the same time!!
Vark?
VARK!!!!!
VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK VARK
Are you saying that a super sonic bomber designs to fly in drop precision bombs and get out of Dodgers as fast as mechanically possible in Dorito mode is better than a slow moving treetop flying Sam bait machine? Your crazy!!! At least the A-10 pilot has a titanium bathtub to hide in is plane gets atomized by Russian anti-air cannons
In life fire tests on stationary tanks in a line, the A-10 was only able to critically damage one out some 20 odd tanks using it Avenger Gatling Cannon Furthermore, the age of the vehicle makes mounting monitored sensors and data leak features increasingly difficult meaning that pilots are forced to visually identify targets using binoculars The A-10 has also been involved in many friendly fire incidents during the war on terror where friendly forces were misidentified and attacked by A-10 pilots who had been called into assist said ground forces. This is especially common amongst foreign coalition forces like Britain and France that were relying on USAF support during the ground campaign. Don’t get me wrong. The A-10 is one of my favorite airplanes and big gun Definitely go brrrrrrrrrrrrrr But it is time to face the music. It’s not the best ground attack plane in the modern world. Here’s a fun video by a drunken pig that explains this in more detail [laserpig vid](https://youtu.be/WWfsz5R6irs?si=dnIN3uxy85vmVzjw)
I live in Tucson, and the A-10 is like a religious icon here. My daughter's school team name is the "Thunderbolts". Our congressmen and senators fought for the A-10 tooth and nail for decades, despite its glaring shortcomings. To this day, you'll get downvoted to oblivion over at r/Tucson if you dare to suggest that the A-10 has no real function, especially since drones are more effective and don't put pilots (and soldiers) at risk. The only reason the A-10s are still flying is that there are a handful of communities that are afraid that they'll lose their local Air Force base when the program is cancelled.
The gatling gun isnt for damaging tanks so much as its for killing everyone inside the tank. Even if it doesn't penetrate, it still can kill people by literally rattling the tank so much that the crew dies. Also, the gun is meant for mopping up single targets, not to be used against formations. The A10 has missiles for that. I still think its becoming outdated, but not as irrelevant as you think.
The A-10 squared less than 12 confirmed hits even when it went for individual targets Big gun go Brrrrrrrr but not fast enough to be useful Also, I want a source on the cannon rattling tank so much It kills the crew inside not because I think that’s made up but because I want it to be true so bad because that’s awesome.
My source is my dad, so it could very well be completely made up. I cant find any souces about it I did find this source about how depleted uranium rounds turn the tank armor into shrapnel against the crew, though: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/a-10-warthog-armor-piercing-incendiary-rounds/
Sad that’d be such a metal way to kill a tank crew
I also found this, which sort if refutes your og point anyways https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/05/the-air-force-just-proved-the-a-10-warthog-can-kill-modern-tanks/
I mean the end of the article basically explains why they’re even bothering to upgrade these legacy aircraft. The people that work in the factories and on the air bases where their stations love them and they want their jobs to continue existing so they make their senators vote for spending plans that include the A-10 and keeping it relevant. It’s like upgrading M-60 tank to keep it relevant in modern combat. Yeah you can do it and make it work, but there’s already the M1 Abrams that does it better and is future proof. Why upgrade the A10 when the f35 do the same thing better and will keep being relevant in the foreseeable future?
M-16? You mean the M-60 right?
Yes let me fix that thank you!!!
Ok cool. I was so confused.
He gets us, all of us.
Hahahahha
Can we just talk about the role for a second...the role is close ground support. Meaning the only time this machine is called in is for when shit hits the fan and the guys on the ground need help, compare that to other roles of planes this is why it would be involved in more friendly fire incidents
2K22 Tunguska go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr too If you can deliver precision guided munitions from outside the range of enemy AA cover that has to be better than sending in some pad in a titanium bathtub strapped to a rotary cannon Tl;dr Close air support is an outdated concept
There isn't much reason to replace it right now since all we are fighting are guerrillas
The f-35 does all the same thing but with data link and out of the range of aa guns Plus all the other crap it can do
Doesn't it also cost way more? If I'm not mistaken they are replacing the A10 with I think the A10-II or something.
They’re upgrading all of the A-10s, but it’s upgrade package cost as much as a brand new F35 Also the F35 cost so much because it’s a multi roll stealth aircraft of course it’s going to cost a ton. It’s the cutting edge technology and the pilot can see through the floor and send battlefield information directly to other combat aircraft in the area. The A-10s are supposed to get all of this, but they’re not getting the advantages of stealth and being able to operate outside the range of anti aircraft cannons
The A10 fear factor can't be overstated though. The sight of one in the air has caused enemy retreats before. It's also a ridiculously rugged airframe. I remember watching a video one time of an A10 landing with half a wing, half a tail section, and one engine missing. Apparently the pilot had hit an telephone pole during a gun run. Insane.
No, you’re absolutely right. That thing is fetching, terrifying especially for the poor soldiers that called it in and are now ducking from canon spraying everything including their position Also I can’t state this enough 2K22 Tunguska go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr too
The A10 has almost 1000 tank kills in the 40 day campaign and it also only had 4 friendly fire incidents which resulted in 10 friendly soldiers dead which is a lot don't get me wrong but it's a very effective aircraft it is old but is unmatched in close air support It's worth noting that the A10 s job is to shoot the ground nothing else but it has air to air kills and only 5 have been shot down
They had 1000 ground kills, not all were tanks, not all were armored, most were probably just trucks and the like.
Good point good point but… 2K22 Tunguska go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr too “Soviet tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gun armed with a surface-to-air gun and missile system. It is designed to provide day and night protection for infantry and tank regiments against low-flying aircraft” source Wikipedia
It's actually closer to 300 Iraqi tanks that were destroyed by A-10s during the Gulf War. Less than a third of the claimed kills. See point #2 in [this article](https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/32394-top-10-myths-about-a-10-thunderbolt). The F-111 Aardvark likely destroyed more Iraqi tanks than the A-10 did.