The A-10 Thunderbolt gone… say it ain’t so

[Tecate]

https://apple.news/AYb1lltjZQTmAvx3ZToxs9w

I just saw this about the US Airforce retiring the A-10 by the end of fiscal year 2025. I know that it was coming, but the ground pounders are really going to miss her.

I have a few buddies who had been having their asses handed to them when they heard that long Brrrrrrrrt! And knew help was here.

It’s going to be a sad day….

Tecate

[Maxmars]

I noticed the report says "In South Korea" which leaves me wondering if it's only a "regional" retirement of aircraft deployed there... and does that mean that in other theaters (say like the Middle East) they will continue operating?

They also don't mention what they intend to replace the aircraft with aside from "fourth-generation fighter jet upgrades."  Are there any comparable platforms like the A-10?

[Zaphod58]

The A-10 fleet won't be retired until 2029. They're removing all the A-10s from South Korea, and they'll be redistributed among other units and AMARG.

[Zaphod58]

Are there any comparable platforms like the A-10?

No, thank god. The A-10 is, in all reality, not a great platform anymore. Everyone loves to hear the gun firing, but the gun is far from accurate, and most of their vehicle kills since Desert Storm have been by other means. The gun is only good against soft targets, and the CEP for it is huge (30ish meters), meaning you need a huge target area to ensure a hit. As for its survivability, yeah it can take a beating and get home, but then all those aircraft that do, are no longer available for use for weeks at a time in some cases, so now you are down platforms.

[Tecate]

Ok Zaph I get that she’s not modern enough.
But there’s no other platform like it that strikes fear into and gets the rest of the bad guys running, as is as armored, right?

What would be the difference in terms of downtime be?


Tecate

[Zaphod58]

Ok Zaph I get that she’s not modern enough.
But there’s no other platform like it that strikes fear into and gets the rest of the bad guys running, as is as armored, right?

What would be the difference in terms of downtime be?


Tecate

The thing with the A-10 is that it HAS to get down in the weeds to do its mission, which is one reason it's so armored. But with PGMs anything can do CAS better. The A-10 didn't fly nearly as many CAS missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as people think. IIRC even the B-1s flew more missions than they did. They were even using B-52s as CAS platforms, and they were more effective because they could stay on station far longer than any fighter could, and were well above any possible threat. 

The big advantage the A-10 has in terms of downtime is that the C update is so recent. It gave them an entirely new wing, and significant cockpit improvements. So it was seeing less down time for a while because of that. But, like everything else, they're extremely long in the tooth. The average age is 32, and they first flew over 50 years ago. In FY23, the A-10 averaged a 67% mission capable rate. That was on the high end for fighters, again, largely due to more recent updates.

[Tecate]

Ok, I understand.
But what does the average ground pounder think?

Does death from above sound as ominous? Missile strikes and rocket strikes to the bad guys probably do not matter much, as they’re getting hit either way.

Hmm, I guess I need to hang out with younger warriors to hear.

I know that I’m hesitant to change… god knows how many people have told me that. But when something works well….

Bigger, better, stronger, faster…


Tecate

[Zaphod58]

Ok, I understand.
But what does the average ground pounder think?

Does death from above sound as ominous? Missile strikes and rocket strikes to the bad guys probably do not matter much, as they’re getting hit either way.

Hmm, I guess I need to hang out with younger warriors to hear.

I know that I’m hesitant to change… god knows how many people have told me that. But when something works well….

Bigger, better, stronger, faster…


Tecate

The A-10 worked well back before mobile SAM systems. It would have been amazing at rolling up Fulda Gap. But it basically boils down to not being able to keep something because guys on the ground think it's cool. The Air Force is at the breaking point budget wise, and something has to give. Our mission capable rates suck hard, and are only getting worse. Our fleet, no matter which fleet you're looking at, averages somewhere around 30 years or more. The backbone of our bomber fleet is going to be 100 years old when it is finally retired. Retiring the A-10 frees up money that's desperately needed, unless Congress is going to increase the budget, which they've shown no signs of doing, at a level that would make replacing all the aircraft that need replacing feasible.