Air Force officials admit A-10 fleet on chopping block ( Davis-Monthan base, Tucson)

[Lady Freedom Returns]

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - A fleet of jets known for taking down threats now facing a real threat of its own. The enemy? Budget cuts.

(SNIP)

Mixed messages out of Washington fueling those concerns and the uncertainty. Yesterday, Senator Kelly Ayotte a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned the 2015 POM, which divests the A-10. Air Force officials admitted that the A-10′s complete divestiture is on the table.

Without A-10's or F-35's at the base, McSally believes Davis-Monthan could be vulnerable to closure and that could have dramatic impact locally. DM is Tucson's third largest employer. The base creates $1.6 billion of economic impact.

More @ http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/Air-Force-officials-admit-A-10-fleet-on-chopping-block--224522521.html

[tech3149]

1. If there's one aircraft that can do the job, it's the A10

You could have dumped the f-35 and 22 at their inception and I wouldn't be happier but the A-10? That is seriously the most productive aircraft we have for the type of mission that has been required for more than a decade.

[JayhawkSD]

2. You know why other ground attack planes have a crew of two?

Because they are so high speed that it takes two to spot the target: one to say "Here it comes," and the other to say "There it went." They are so high speed they can either find a target or attack it, but not both. The only time their mission is a success is when they stumble on a target by accident.

The A-10 earned its Afghan name of "the Devil's cross." It can lurk in an area half of the day and it never misses what it fires at. Never. The Air Force has decided to abandon it twice and has realized both times that the Warthog is the only airplane they have that can do what it does.

[Sentath]

4. What do they think can replace it?

One of my friends describes the A-10 as a gun so awesome they had to strap a plane to it.

[JayhawkSD]

6. Oops, see post #5

It was supposed to be a reply to post number 4

[ThoughtCriminal]

3. The A-10 is a superior ground attack aricraft

It's main weakness is that it is not making anybody rich and it's not glamorous.

[JayhawkSD]

5. They have nothing that can replace it

and it's so ugly that some people question whether that thing strapped to the gun is actually even an airplane.