503rd and USAF Take Care of Business

[C-MAC]

U.S. Army Paratroopers from 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, "The Rock", 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, call in an A-10 Warthog to engage Insurgent position with 30mm gatling gun in Korengal valley, Afghanistan.

http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos. ... ent=220832

Ah, Army and Air Force working together. What's next? Cats and dogs living in harmony? I am pretty sure this all indicates the end of the world is soon approaching.

[panthersix]

Where's the MILF?

[Sleepy Doc]

I always wondered why the AF powers that be never thought the A-10 was a good idea, and how a fast mover could replace it. Always loved watching (and hearing) it do it's thing..




(I'll bet the dudes on the ground like them just fine.. )

[C-MAC]

I always wondered why the AF powers that be never thought the A-10 was a good idea, and how a fast mover could replace it. Always loved watching (and hearing) it do it's thing..

(I'll bet the dudes on the ground like them just fine.. )

Yes, well a 30mm Uranium round makes for one Hell of a bad day

They tried to phase out the Warthogs a few years ago. Some USAF genius wanted more money for the F-35, which they said would replace it- which is total bs. Anyway, once that conversation hit the front-page, they scuttled the whole mothball idea.

Bottom line, A-10's are set to be around until 2028. Nothing around does a better job at CAS. Just my humble opinion.

[C-MAC]

Will always love that sound...............

Here is a video that is too lengthy taken by guys on the ground, but when the 30mm fires you can really appreciate the beauty;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YfNtzcZ ... re=related

[Sleepy Doc]

From that first time I saw one I wanted to fly them. Unfortunately for me, I grew to 6'5" in high school.. and there went any chance of being a pilot. (there was also that nagging little thing about fallin asleep so goddamn much. Little did I know what it was..) I remember seeing one up close and personal at Wright-Patterson AFB and seeing a mockup of the DU rounds. The things were the friggin size of one of those old school glass pepsi bottles!..

The first time I heard one doing an air gunnery range I thought, "What the fuck is THAT?.."

You win "The Understatement of the Day" Award, Doc.

Hey man, just trying to keep it real. My first room mate in Batt. said his dad worked on the design bureau at Fairchild-Republic. Aparently, they took the baddest piece of shootin' iron they could find and built the plane around it. He said the old school establishment didn't like it cause it was slow and "ugly".

I guess you can say that the concept has been validated.(not to be Mr. Obvious again..) Me? I'm glad be have that bad ass piece of aircraft keepin' the boys safe..

[KW Driver]

From that first time I saw one I wanted to fly them. Unfortunately for me, I grew to 6'5" in high school.. and there went any chance of being a pilot.

Yeah, but I spent 11 years in an aircraft I'm physically disqualified to fly, according to the Army.

[RANGER513]

The A-10 does make a awesome sound ! I miss that unique sound.

Not sure what the military has flying around these days, but back in the day the A-10 was the best all-around CAS platform in the game.

[C-MAC]

IMO the problem is that my former colleagues in the USAF many times looked for single aircraft to be multi-dimensional. Much of that was driven by- you guessed it; money. Everybody always wants their piece of the pie for a pet project or platform. Many many-times they legitimately believe it will fulfill the role of CAS plus other missions. It is a healthy debate I suppose, but highly prejudiced against older aircraft.

The Gulf War helped show aircraft such as the A-10 have a very important role to play. While certainly politics helped push out operation until 2028 and get an extra 25 planes produced a few years back, the important part of the debate that will be fought into perpetuity is for a separate single-dimensional CAS air platform. I personally don't know how you can replace an aircraft like the A-10 which is very stable at slow speeds, is a tank against ground-fire and carry's that type of specialized loadout with something like the F-35.

By the way, the best test is the love guys on the ground have for it (as you can tell from the comments). If the people it was meant to serve love it and find it effective- why change? Tell ya what; why don't they ask the guys catching the 30mm rounds in this video what they thought- although they may have to have a psychic channel them.

Ah, but what do I know. I still get chills watching video of the A-1's. Ask guys that served in Vietnam about that bad-boy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcOvMQ17-i4

[KW Driver]

and the A-1 with modern avionics would probably work as well or better than an A-10, at a significantly reduced cost. but the AF didn't want 'em back then either. just not sexy enough at killing other aircraft.

but the AF has always done what they want, and gotten away with it:

AF: we need F-22s and 35s.

Congress: no, you need more C-17s, buy them.

AF: we bought the 22s and 35s.

Congress: here's some money for the 17s.

[merlyn]

When I was at Ft. Polk, I would watch the A-10s go through their maneuvers
over the Air Force Base in Alexandria. The Air Force would also like to
mothball the F-22 Raptor; however, a certain Air Force Lt. General has
told me that he has his doubts.
BTW, C-Mac, since we are making reference to nicknames; the 173rd
is affectionaltely known as "The Herd". PJs rule. Spongebob out.

[mortar_guy78]

Speaking of the Herd and A-10s, in 2003 there was an A-10 squadron on Kirkuk Air Base with us, and we fucking loved them. A-10s are the shit, to echo what every other guy here has said.
As far as I'm concerned, Specter and the Warthog are all the AF has going for them.