My rant/fantasy regarding the A-10(A&B) Warthog.

Daryl wrote:I was involved in the development of the Tiger into Australian service, where we integrated avionics and hardware. Can't say much, except if one was looking for me I'd like a shovel and time to get deep, as it was exceptional.

Tenshinai wrote:On the one hand, that gun would be pretty nasty against a ship, but OTOH, it´s not really a very effective gun, it´s made to spray a target area, using excessive amounts of ammo compared to what it achieves.

So, you could probably replace it with a lighter, slower firing but much more accurate gun using the same ammo, or potentially give it something like a 40mm gun with even slower ROF but seriously strong punch, and STILL save enough weight to allow for a hook and not loose any performance.

Still, attacking ships with guns today is generally a terrible idea, because the ship nearly always has a gun that can reach out further, the ship is a better gun platform, it has all the sensors it needs to do this with ease, and the A-10 is a SLOW flier.
Any ship beyond "lightly defended" is probably more or less suicidal to attack at gunrange.

Castenea wrote:Tom Clancy has A-10s sink a ship in Red Storm Rising, however they used something a lot more realistic than their gun, Air dropped Torps. If you are in Gun range with any airplane of a defended ship you are too close, that is what tin fish and air launched cruise missiles are for.

Tenshinai wrote:

Castenea wrote:Tom Clancy has A-10s sink a ship in Red Storm Rising, however they used something a lot more realistic than their gun, Air dropped Torps. If you are in Gun range with any airplane of a defended ship you are too close, that is what tin fish and air launched cruise missiles are for.

Tom Clancy also had the F-19 be real.

Daryl wrote:A possible new development.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/innov ... 55edb06cff

Makes some sense. Relatively low cost, so you can have more of them.

WLBjork wrote:

Tenshinai wrote:Tom Clancy also had the F-19 be real.

Red Storm Rising, published 1986.

Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1986-1987, 1987-1988 and 1988-1989 included the F19. Not only that, there were 3 flight simulators based on it and at least 2 models. For a book in 1986, it wasn't an unreasonable inclusion.

I have to say that the A10 isn't, IMO, perfect. It's great for hunting tanks, it's great for surviving in high-threat environments due to its redundancy and design.

The problem is that dang 30mm cannon throws big rounds, and even the training rounds have a lot of energy which will make the shockwave disorientating (possibly disabling) when fired close to friendly troops - not to mention that 5MOA accuracy level. In other words, it's not a precision weapon for short range support.

So, whilst the A10 shouldn't be retired without a direct replacement, I think it should be supplemented by a new (turboprop - which no doubt will upset the USAF) aircraft, built with similar levels of survivability and designed for the COIN role, with a principle armament of 7.62mm and/or 12.7mm machine guns.

Oh, and I'd support the replacement for the A10 being a 2-seated. I've seen one incident where 2 A10s failed to properly communicate with the ground controller, resulting in them strafing a Scorpion or Scimitar light tank and causing casualties.

robert132 wrote:... or serve the same role for the Afghan Air Farce ...

The A-29 Super Tucano turboprops supplied to the Afghan Air Force by the U.S. have flown hundreds of combat missions amid concerns over mounting civilian casualties caused in the airstrikes, Gen. John Nicholson said Thursday.

...

Since the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucanos became operational in April 2016, they "have done in excess of 800 missions" flown by the Afghan pilots trained at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Nicholson said.

Weird Harold wrote:

The A-29 Super Tucano turboprops supplied to the Afghan Air Force by the U.S. have flown hundreds of combat missions amid concerns over mounting civilian casualties caused in the airstrikes, Gen. John Nicholson said Thursday.

...

Since the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucanos became operational in April 2016, they "have done in excess of 800 missions" flown by the Afghan pilots trained at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Nicholson said.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017 ... canos.html