Revealed: US Air Force Is Planning to Build a Super A-10 Warthog

Thank heavens the Air Force is finally getting its act together.

About time they did something to replace that awesome workhog!

The F-35 can never adequately replace the A-10. It's not slow enough nor maneuverable enough to provide the kind of loiter and targeting CAS needs. The A-10s received wingbox replacements not too many years ago to extend the airframe service life. Except for upgrading avionics, threat assessment and communication gear, it would be hard to argue a replacement. Plus, there are something over 100 A-10s in desert storage. Cheapest and most effective plan would be to upgrade them all and put them into service.

Honey what took you so long?

We've (GE's) been trying to sell them uprated engines for years, but AF wouldn't bite. 40% more thrust and 10% less fuel burn, that would make a Super Warthog.

The Air Force doesn't like the Warthog because it isn't sexy. The ground pounders all love it because its great at close air support. Oh, wait, the Air Force doesn't like that mission - never has. They want to have fast, sexy F-35a. Well surprise the ISIS doesn't have an Air Force so theres no mission for the F-35.

There is no way I would give the Air Force money for another program they will just waste it. Better to go pull 100 A-10s out of the boneyard, strengthen the airfranes and the avonics and get on with life.

And they wonder why the Army, Navy and Marines refer to them as the "Air Farce".....

Pull em out of mothballs now. The war is coming. If they don't want to fly them hand em over to the army. They know what their ground pounders need. That is why the marines do their own ground support. They don't use the Air Force or navy for close air support. Even the marines would love those hogs. Don't get me wrong though the warthog drivers in the Air Force are bad ass professionals. Their management just sucks.

Afraid it does not look auspicious folks. USAF is all about "air superiority" over the battle space. That means fighters and interceptors; how else to earn a DFC?? That's AF pri 1. Pri 2 is bombers to put warheads on foreheads and claim the strategic triad support. CAS is pri 4 for USAF; after all it's just those Army grunts down there. Notice there is no pri 3.

Every time Army proffers an upgraded helo or (gasp!) a fixed-wing CAS a/c, AF promises a study that will deliver a perfect airplane in the future. Meanwhile, the ground-pounders are left to fend for themselves.

It's all a game about maintaining (and hopefully) increasing share of DOD budget.

Love all you guys talking about the "Hog" . A wonderful airplane. Im eighty years old and hope they keep a Hog or a similar aircraft around for a long time. Been around long enough time to hear ever couple of year they goona mothball the Hog and then a few months later OH we need to keep it. I'm Prior Army back in the brown shoe days.

USAF finally does the right thing after trying out every other possible solution.

Flew the hog.. Army has right to fly all A10's if USAF won't fly a dedicated CAS aircraft. That's why the AF can't quit flying the Hog. Look it up in Army Air Corp agreement to form USAF.

This is the AF, right? Smoke and mirrors? I'll believe it when I see it.

It will be overly complex (scope creep) and late as well as over budget. Possibly the most sensible thing I have seen about our military in a LONG time.

Wait, the enemy does not and cannot field anything close to the current A-10 but a Super version is desired. I'm quite sure that the Army would love M3 Abrams Super Tanks as well but again, our enemy does not and cannot field anything to match the M1. I know it's only money, but geeez, enough is enough.

This is going to end up costing almost like the F-35 for the Air Force types, not schooled in very basic economics, will come up with all sorts of goals and performance requirements when the reasoable thing is to just to tweak the Wharthog some. They will never learn.

Air Force Can’t Afford F-35 But Wants a ‘Super’ A-10?

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2016/07/20/air-force-cant-afford-f-35-but-wants-a-super-a-10/

Design reqirememts priorities
1. Gun
2. Armor
3. Airframe
4. Engine
5.....tba

Keep the existing design including the gun but update the powerplant with more efficient core & higher electrical power output (not necessarily thrust). Keep the metal construction as it is easier to fix. Update radios, sensors & displays including helmet sight. The new or rebuild becomes a question of easiest & cost given that as the current fleet has high time in nap of the earth flight that can mean 2 - 3 times the numerical flight hours in airframe life owing to the high g loads.

Cool. Maybe the end of our stealth fetish is finally near. Let's just pray they can (try to) keep it within a reasonable budget.

The reality of the modern battlefield, as can plainly be learned from our operations in the Middle East, is that the next-gen CAS aircraft will need to be designed with Counterinsurgency operations as a primary focus. This means durability, long loiter periods, and the ability to get down in the weeds for extremely precise attacks with a mix of munitions.

While everyone loves the A-10, the reality is that even it carries too much firepower for the wars we're fighting. The GAU-8 is great for fighting against heavy tanks, but even ISIL (probably the largest, most organized enemy we're likely to face in the next two decades) only has a few commandeered tanks, and none of them are heavy enough or advanced enough that other, lighter weapons can't take them out. The solution may be something resembling the OV-10 Bronco, with more powerful engines (feasible with today's technology) allowing for an internal autocannon (maybe the GAU-22 or a variant?) and better fuel capability.

So overdue update to electronics and targeting? Else leave air-frame and weapons alone. Best damn airplane to provide ground support that has ever flown! Wart Hogs rock!

no need to reinvent the wheel- the plane is ideal as it exists now. Make more of them, lots more of them, because the 9th century Islamic terrorists have no counter to it, and I think they may never have one.
The problem is in the shortage of air to ground missiles, and that can be remedied. Or, go lease a few hundred frogfoot soviet ground attack aircraft for immediate use. If the terrorists ever learn not to mass in number above a few dozen, then that is a practical defense against the A10, but the middle east is different from Europe in that there are less natural places to hide. I want to hear the story about the change in attitude here.

I totally Agree with Stuart, Below. Somebody finally got some real Sense in their heads. The Warthog is a AWESOME MACHINE, that has saved Thousands of American Lives. It sure would have been nice, if All our Guys in Benghazi, would have had Access to just One of the Awesome Aircraft, at their disposal that night of the raid. I sincerely believe in my Heart, IF they had been able to called in ONE Airstrike, every Single one of our Guys would Still be alive today.
Get this Aircraft Back Up and Running! It is Way too Valuable to brush off the table. Commanders, HOLD YOUR GROUND and DEMAND these Aircraft are brought Back to Inventory. Us old Retired guys are going to sit back and see just how well you younger guys Perform and make this Happen!

So in about 30 years they'll have a flyable prototype....

Yipee

Don't get your hopes up. They'll want a Mach+ capability, look cool, stealth, 360 degree Heads up day and night vision with computer generated target info included.

I think the Army should have their own CAS, same as the Marines. Air Force can have the deep interdiction, battlefield surveillance. Same missions the Navy provides for the Marines.

Awesome!

KISS Adm Rickover
ARMOR,
GUN ostof Ammo WINGS BIG ASS Engines

Why does the Warthog have an armored canaop? So that the pilot does not get hit in the back of the head by the birds trying to fly past it.

They have enough problems trying to build the F35's for Australia more floors in them

But make sure no one is held responsible for the 10's of Billions of tax dollars wasted on the F35 project. I mean thats the gov't way....

Just another military industrial complex welfare subsidy. The existing A10 cannot be matched by any of our advisaries, MORE wasted money for no JUSTIFIABLE reason!

Let's get something straight. The Air Force never "wanted" to retire the A-10. The Pentagon forced them into that. USAF was told to choose between the A-10 and F-35, they couldn't have both. It's a horrible choice, what do you do? Dump a new 5th generation fighter that is slated to bolster a horribly depleting fighter force or dump the military's best CAS aircraft ever? It's a horrible choice to make, it's like somebody putting a gun to your head and telling you to choose between losing an arm or a leg.

As for the F-35 not being as good as the A-10 is the CAS role, that is obvious. Back in the late 1980s, the A-10 was going to retire, too. The solution was to put a 30mm gun pod on the F-16 and off you go hunting tanks. Predictably, the testing went terribly and there was no way to make an F-16 do well in that mission, just like the F-35. The A-10 is about as different in design from the fast fighters as Christmas Island is from the moon. The F-35 (and F-16) were never designed for that mission. The F-35 is having a PR problem because, when proposing a new jet these days, you have to prove that it can do everything. Then you have to "prove" through testing that it can do everything. For anything that it doesn't do well because it was never designed to do it (like CAS), there's a legion of anti-military media (that has opposed every new weapon system acquisition since the Korean War) and anti-F-35 bloggers waiting to pounce on it and put it in the worst light possible. Most people don't know that the F-35 has NEVER been defeated by an F-15 in air combat. The "loss" against the F-16 last year was a bogus red-herring story that never even happened.

If the Air force doesn't like thwew Mission with the A-10 give'em to te Army or the Marines. Then get the He[[ out of the way, they know how to fight a ground war.

Thankfully someone is thinking!! It will be interesting to see what she will look like

The gun is fearsome and cool but that is what really needs to be changed hence the redesign. It needs a fire and forget weapons system that can engage multiple targets with an extreme kill rate. Replacing 2 tons of gun would make a lot of room for smart weapons and armor.