Something for CdM

[mongers]

Something for CdM and no doubt a few more connoisseurs here.

How an ugly, brutally effective warplane won the battle for its future

By David Axe November 24, 2015


A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft from Bagram Air Base flies a combat mission over Afghanistan, in this handout photograph taken on June 14, 2009 and obtained on May 20, 2014. REUTERS/Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson/U.S. Air Force/Handout via Reuters

U.S.-backed Syrian rebels launched an attack late last month on Islamic State militants near the town of Hawl in northern Syria. They regained control of roughly 100 square miles of territory, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

"It was a fairly straightforward, conventional offensive operation," Army Colonel Steve Warren told reporters via video conference from Baghdad, "where we estimated ... several hundred enemy [fighters] were located in that vicinity."

Warren continued his description. "There was a substantial friendly force — well over 1,000 participated in the offensive part of this operation. And they were able to very deliberately execute the plan that they had made themselves."

Two types of U.S. warplanes, both optimized for precision attacks in close coordination with ground troops, were critical to the Syrian rebels' success, Warren revealed. "We were able to bring both A-10s and a Spectre gunship to bear," he said, "... It can only be described as devastating .... it killed nearly 80 enemy fighters and wounded many more."

Video shot by a correspondent from the Kurdish Hawar News Agency showed A-10s wheeling over the battlefield as rebel fighters advanced.

The lumbering Spectre gunship, basically a cargo plane with side-firing guns, is one of the Air Force's favorite aircraft. It's the beneficiary of billions of dollars in new funding to buy new models and upgrade older ones.

But the twin-jet A-10, an ungainly-looking, single-pilot plane with thick, straight wings and a massive, nose-mounted cannon, is out of favor with Air Force leaders — despite being vitally important to the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State. The flying branch's top generals and civilian officials have fought for years to get rid of all 300 A-10s and divert their operators and budget to other initiatives. Meanwhile, a grass-roots effort led by current and former U.S. ground troops and bolstered by key lawmakers has protected the A-10, also known by its nickname "Warthog."
......

Full Article here, worth a read and has more photos too:

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/11/24/how-an-ugly-brutally-effective-warplane-won-the-battle-for-its-future/

[dps]

Q:  How many dead Frenchmen does it take to get CdM posting again?

A:  Not sure of the exact number, but if we knew the answer, we could have arranged his return sooner.

Too soon?

[11B4V]

A-10 FTW

[derspiess]

Everyone likes the A-10.  I've been a fan since about 1986.

[Berkut]

I still don't know what it does better than some alternative, now that blowing up tanks is not really a "thing" anymore.

Now it seems like a plane that has a mission more because the Air Force has no alternative, rather than because it is particularly good at something.

[MadImmortalMan]

Fairchild isn't around to promise any Generals sweet consultant gigs in retirement.


And I don't think the plane looks ungainly at all.

[grumbler]

I still don't know what it does better than some alternative, now that blowing up tanks is not really a "thing" anymore.

Now it seems like a plane that has a mission more because the Air Force has no alternative, rather than because it is particularly good at something.

It takes ground fire better than any alternative.  It also lays down fire better than anything bar a Spectre.  The "plane that has a mission more because the Air Force has no alternative, rather than because it is particularly good at something" has always been the F-16.

[Tonitrus]

I still don't know what it does better than some alternative, now that blowing up tanks is not really a "thing" anymore.

Now it seems like a plane that has a mission more because the Air Force has no alternative, rather than because it is particularly good at something.

It takes ground fire better than any alternative.  It also lays down fire better than anything bar a Spectre.  The "plane that has a mission more because the Air Force has no alternative, rather than because it is particularly good at something" has always been the F-16.

And we're going to spend untold billions to see that the F-35 fills that role. 

[CountDeMoney]

Q:  How many dead Frenchmen does it take to get CdM posting again?

A:  Not sure of the exact number, but if we knew the answer, we could have arranged his return sooner.

Too soon?

Meh, I just stop by now and then to drag my scrotum across Ed Anger's frosted strudel and then teabag him while he's in his drug-induced stupor.

[Admiral Yi]

I think any poster who is feeling a little grumpy and out of sorts can take inspiration from Seedy and figure out that a brief hiatus from Languish will allow him to return refreshed, peppy, and loving life.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I still don't know what it does better than some alternative, now that blowing up tanks is not really a "thing" anymore.

Now it seems like a plane that has a mission more because the Air Force has no alternative, rather than because it is particularly good at something.

It's pretty good for what we've generally been using it for lately.  We'd lose a shitload of them trying to kill tanks that are actually defended though. 

[CountDeMoney]

I think any poster who is feeling a little grumpy and out of sorts can take inspiration from Seedy and figure out that a brief hiatus from Languish will allow him to return refreshed, peppy, and loving life.

Here's a refreshed and peppy "Go Fuck Yourself", asshole.

[Ed Anger]

Q:  How many dead Frenchmen does it take to get CdM posting again?

A:  Not sure of the exact number, but if we knew the answer, we could have arranged his return sooner.

Too soon?

Meh, I just stop by now and then to drag my scrotum across Ed Anger's frosted strudel and then teabag him while he's in his drug-induced stupor.

Sounds like a date. I'll bake a pie.