I worked for Fairchild Republic right out of college in the 70s & early 80s. Moved on to TRW Space & Electronics ultimately retiring from Northrop Grumman. One of my early project assignments was in support ot the then new A-10. Used to watch them practice tank and armored vehicle busting with the gun during desert exercises. They were VERY effective.
Keep structural integrity, instrumentation, and weapons modernizations going for as long as possible. If Air Force brass decides against continued support transfer them to the Army or Marine Corps. Could be a relatively inexpensive 100 year asset saving countless young American lives like the B-52.
Sorry to break your heart, but the USAF has been phasing it out of commission. My squadron has sent 15 to the boneyard in the last year alone. The plan is to have all scrapped by 2028.
The A10 is an awesome aircraft. They usually fly two planes at a time and the make a very distinct sound that I find to be beautiful. They fly near my home occasionally and always at low altitude. Love it.
I worked and flew on the B-52 in the 80s - bomb-nav avionics tech - and I thought the buff was a badass (it is as a bomber) but when I saw the A-10 and got my degree in aeronautics, I saw both as weapons systems that would last. It's cool that systems designed in the 50s and 60s are still viable today.
They built this aircraft around the 30 mm gun & pilot . The pilot actually sits inside a thick walled titanium tub that keeps them safe from enemy ground fire because this aircraft flys so slow . It’s top speed is a staggering 420 MPH low & slow & it gets things done .
I served in the Air Force at Myrtle Beach in the 1980s- home of the A-10. As an anti-personnel weapon and tank killer it's as badass as they come. What gets me is at first they didn't want to use them in the Gulf War then changed their minds. Good thing. A-10s caused more damage, more kills, more death than any other weapon system.
Growing up, there would occasionally be a pair fly over our house. We could always tell when they were about to, and I would rush outside and watch in awe as they fly over. Very distinct sound.
The A-10 working along with the Apache AH-64 attack helicopter provides the ultimate in close air support (CAS) and is easily a force multiplier individually...but together can totally decimate multiple heavily armored enemies plus soft targets AND reinforced bunkers and/or buildings using the latest Hellfire and Maverick missals at a stand-off of 5+ miles and with the Apache AH-64 Longbow's radar and fire control, it's fire & forget before the enemy even knows you are there. And when combined with the A-10's GAU-8 cannon and 10 hardpoints for numerous advanced weapons systems (rockets, missals, anti-radar and air to air munitions etc.) They are the most lethal team for CAS, esp. when covered by a few F-16 above. They are easily a tank's worst nightmare...ever! If they go to Ukraine, it'll be game over for all tanks and any artillery or other armor Russia has left. It won't be long either!
Not another dime for Ukraine! The U.S. needs to stop looking for wars and mind its own business. Whole thing is nothing but a huge money laundering operation & its the Ukranian people paying the price. We have LOTS of issues at home these BILLIONS of tax payer money could better address. People in that area have been fighting forever & if modern Ukraine cant stand on its own too bad. It is NOT a U S. allie and is Not in the U S. sphere of influence.
I first learned about the A-10s, in a stupid way, from early GI Joe comics. But they built them in Hagerstown MD, only 25 minutes to my West, so we would see a lot of them flying around. Our Air national Guard in Maryland has a squadron, near Baltimore, so whenever there are flyovers for games and such, people go nuts. They have such a distinctive sound
Older guy here, used to love the cobra rattler from gi joe back in the day which was designed directly from the a10, and now they are painting snake heads on the real thing, love it.
It was painted for the air unit it Fort Wayne, Indiana. They are called the Black Snakes. Sadly they no longer fly the a10 as of this year and are transitioning to the F16.
Bim just glad we have them on our side. The ammount of engineering on these is staggering tbe fact that they are straight up vehicle killers is a bonus.
It is so good that the DOD decided not to eliminate the Warthog as we have no other ground support craft to even approach the effectiveness of the A-10.
Could've sworn that I read not long ago that to the disappointment of many the A-10 was being phased out. It's an unbelievably effective platform......
@@brandonsmith606 But like what Phantom said, the big-wig desk jockey wingnuts at the Pentagon think we no longer need it, while the ground-pounders don't want to see it go ANYWHERE.
It’s because the Military Industrial Complex isn’t about defending America with weapons that actually work, it’s about making money while keeping the USA in thrall to Globalist causes-like propping up Ukraine’s dictator, letting China buy our food companies, and weakening our military.
Love the A10. I wonder why they dont mod planes like they do cars! Would love to see this thing capable of carrying more rounds of ammo of the GAU 1500 rounds aint enough!
But tactically the planes makes less sense today and in the future. Today it's easier to get a drone or a swarm of drones in the air to observe or attack a target and it's way safer for the pilots. Still a nice aircraft, but an outdated one.
simplicity? where did you hear that? this aircraft is a maintenance nightmare. Everything breaks and with very loose tolerance over time and it requires a ridiculous amount of money to upkeep.
@@tbnobs From the pilots that I talked to alot of them are not too interested in flying this 47 year old + aircraft. If anything the newer F-35 and F-22 are a bit envy.
That was not a test plane. It was comerative color scheme at the 122 fighter wing in Ft Wayne, Indiana. The aircraft was supposed to be painted back into the standard Air Force grey but was declined due to painting cost and the fact that the A-10C's at that base were retired and sent to a boneyard. Ultimately, the aircraft is still in black and likely to be placed in some base iun the US as part of a local air and space museum at an Air Force base.
They'll never get them. NOT ANOTHER U.S. TAXPAYER DIME TO UKRAINE! Nothing but a huge money laudering scam supporting a Nazi influenced government & killing innocent Ukrainians. Ukraine is NOT a U.S. ally, not a NATO member, and is not in the U.S. sphere of influence. If the idiot Europeans want to stick their noses (again) in other peoples business fine. But those wasted BILLIONS of U.S. taxpayer dollars could be much better used at home helping our own citizens, businesses, economy, military, upgrading /rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, and helping our real allies when needed like Israel.
Nobody asked me, but an updated version of the A-10, should be in production. No, it's not stealthy, no it's not new, but a weapon system like this, doesn't need to be. It does need to be easily mass produced. It does need to be inexpensive to build and operate. It does need to be EFFECTIVE! War is coming! Any look at current events makes it clear. It's been said many times. "If you want peace? Prepare for war!" Our nation's leadership has, and continues to do the OPPOSITE! Clearly they want WAR! Updating and modernizing old fighters is great! So far as that goes. But without new production? In a real war? They won't last long, against a capable and determined foe. That doesn't make the A-10 obsolete, anymore that a soldier on the ground will be obsolete. You need new A-10s for the same reason that you need new soldiers. In a real war, life is cheap, and casualties are common. Having A-10s over the battlefield could be the difference between victory and defeat.
@@galvinstanley3235 obsolete is a word easily used, depending upon one's view point. If the platform deploying the weapon is easily destroyed before it's use? Then the weapon is obsolete. View point amounts to the percieved level of risk. Acceptable risk to some, is unacceptable to others. For example an A-10 operating at 400 mph, over the battlefield. Is much faster than a helicopter gunship flying ar 100 mph. All too often, "obsolete," is the label used to dismiss older weapon programs, , no longer in production. All that's really obsolete, is the production contract. In particular, the F-35 with a 25 mm gun is said to be "less vulnerable" than the A-10 over a battlefield! The F-35 is using a gun that has a shorter range and much less striking power. Making the F-35 FAR more vulnerable to ground fire, than the A-10. Moreover the F-35 is not armored to withstand ground fire like the A-10. The F-35 would be less vulnerable to radar guided missiles than the A-10. At low levels the shielded, above wing turbofan engines of the A-10, have a MUCH lower IR signature. Compared to the super hot supersonic cruise engine of the F-35. Except that the F-35 has a current and very lucrative contract. Stealth is the buzzword, for new aircraft today. Except that stealth technology doesn't mean much 400 feet over a battlefield. When everyone can see the aircraft, and use IR guided missiles to hit it. Needless to say that the A-10 needs a new production contract. THEN, we can get a more objective assessment of how "obsolete" the A-10 is.
@@scottjackson5173 Former F-16 Avionics Specialist here. Its funny listening to people like you talk about these aircraft and what makes them vulnerable or effective. Your ideas aren't based on anything even remotely applicable to the battlespace these aircraft operate in and I can promise you that the things you're discussing aren't even being considered. Which is exactly why civilians keep begging to keep it while the actual warfighters in the USAF are telling anyone that will listen that the A-10 is far worn out it's effectiveness and has very little application on the modern battlefield. No way in hell does an A-10 operate in Ukraine right now. It would ruin the stellar reputation the A-10 has earned over the past 40 years.
@@Danlovestrivium I understand your view point. Except that you're being deliberately obtuse. I NEVER suggested that the A-10 would be the stand alone solution for disputed airspace! The A-10 is just one type of aircraft the USAF uses. I shouldn't have to explain to you, concepts of establishing air superiority do I? The role of SAM suppression, Wild weasel units, stealth units. Air superiority fighters overhead. A-10s down low. It's a team effort. If all you understand is avionics. Stick your head, back into your hardware.
@@scottjackson5173 Again, this is all laughable, at best. I know you think you know more about this than the actual professionals (including the ones that fly them) making the call YEARS ago to retire the A-10, but I guess that's to be expected from someone that gets their information from WIki and CZcams.
They want to, but they cant get rid of it.... Grew up 8 miles from Grissom AFB in Indiana, they had 40 of these, flew in pairs for 30 years, 70-90's... targeted us on our tractors.... Saw them every day, for 30 years....
Recent events in Ukraine demonstrate that the "replacements" for the A-10, simply won't work. It's not just about low and slow. It's about IR signature and ruggedness. Something that the Russians don't have. Stealth matters little, when the troops on the ground, can see you, with shoulder launch missiles. It also demonstrates that a ground attack aircraft needs great maneuverability and IR suppression, countermeasures, as well as decoy flares. So far, nothing the Russians have has done well over the battlefield. An expensive aircraft like the F-35, is too fragile, and too valuable to risk. So it's no replacement.
It can absolutely be effective. If Ukraine had a few 100 of these they could have lit Russian columns up as soon as they were entering. The same if it was working in conjunction with the F-35. They will slowly be phased out, in favor of the F-35 lightning II, but they also said it would be retired in favor of the F-16. The A-10 is just hard to go out of style. Besides air support, its combination of large and varied ordinance load, long loiter time, accurate weapons delivery, field capability and survivability. It's also like a flying tank, with the A-10s cockpit and portions of its flight control system being protected by 1,200 pounds of titanium aircraft armor. It's also the cheapest to fly per hr.
@@johnwilliams5549 I think that you need to read my comment again. I wasn't criticizing the A-10. I hope that the F-35, will live up to it's reputation. I have serious doubts about that. Working with a modern version of the A-10, would be ideal. We will see.
@@upbeat3535 Obviously it will eventually be retired but they tried to retire it in 2015,2016,2017. Congress kept saying "we are not retiring it if we have no direct replacement". A lot can happen in 6 years.
Love it. Used to work on an industrial estate in Westbury Wiltshire and the early “Tank Buster” as they were called flew low over us to play on Salisbury Plain. We waved at the pilots. Fantastic
WOW! I just LOVED how you guys managed to edit in (at 2:30) some great, completely out of context, B-roll from WWII, of a B&W AF promotional video of the 1st Black AF squadron, the Tuskegee airmen! Oh, and your background research sux. The DoD, the Pentagon, AND the USAF have been trying to retire the A-10 for over 10 years now, but Congress wouldn't let them until finally next year. And it's only going to be about a dozen or so. Surprise!!!
This is one best the toughest planes in us and they should give it up because flat out it kills anything you want and can take a hit and still keep going
Ok, I can't help it, I have to point out that none of the targets they showed were tanks.....Maybe one that you can't hardly see and it appeared to be an older model probably a M-47. The rest were m113's and self propelled howitzers.
bro has never heard of a warthog before i guess
…it’s wart hog right? Not war thog…?
It’s wart hog
Well it dependth on how you pronounth it.
Wart hog
@@DevonsWorkshop😂
@@DevonsWorkshoplmaoth
This plane is a legend.
Tanks shudder
And men stutter
As the warthog rolls by .....
And I just shart
F15s don’t
This plane is old but everyone loves it. One of the best sounds and best gun ever.
That's because it really jams. This plane is 1 sob.
**when they designed it is like.
**What if we design a plane around a really big gun!
That paint job is absolutely sick…. Holy chit well done to whoever came up with that
You’re telling me! This is the first time I’m seeing it, and I live along the incoming flight path where those things go in for landings!
read this as soon as i said holyyyy fuck
I got the same camo in gta 😅
I think it was a one off paint job for the Indiana Air National Guard.
I don't believe you start a youtube channel and then we will :)@@alexmartinez5859
I worked for Fairchild Republic right out of college in the 70s & early 80s. Moved on to TRW Space & Electronics ultimately retiring from Northrop Grumman. One of my early project assignments was in support ot the then new A-10. Used to watch them practice tank and armored vehicle busting with the gun during desert exercises. They were VERY effective.
You did very good work! These aircraft are still going strong fifty years later. May the A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” never die 🫡
Keep structural integrity, instrumentation, and weapons modernizations going for as long as possible. If Air Force brass decides against continued support transfer them to the Army or Marine Corps. Could be a relatively inexpensive 100 year asset saving countless young American lives like the B-52.
So did my father back when I lived on Long Island, worked there for 35 years 👍
LOVE this plane. It will NEVER die. NEVER.
the Pantsir S-1 and Tunguska SPAA in question:
They'll replace it eventually, god knows they're been trying. The F22 as well.
B52 however will be around to see fighting on mars.
When th warthog fog rolls in if you're the bad guy you know you're going to have a bad day ou're going to have a horrible day and the friendly's cheer
Sorry to break your heart, but the USAF has been phasing it out of commission. My squadron has sent 15 to the boneyard in the last year alone. The plan is to have all scrapped by 2028.
@@itstazaurbruh…
One of the most terrifying aircrafts to take to the air
Angel of death
@@trippcotharn5886 AC130
I think he called it a Warth-og
Bring it birch's USA mess with the best die like the rest 😆😆
@@vtfarmkid3045flying tank
The A10 is an awesome aircraft. They usually fly two planes at a time and the make a very distinct sound that I find to be beautiful. They fly near my home occasionally and always at low altitude. Love it.
They use to fly over fairly often when they were in Grissom AFB.
Put on a good show now and then banking back and forth down low.
I worked and flew on the B-52 in the 80s - bomb-nav avionics tech - and I thought the buff was a badass (it is as a bomber) but when I saw the A-10 and got my degree in aeronautics, I saw both as weapons systems that would last. It's cool that systems designed in the 50s and 60s are still viable today.
BTW - grew up in CT and joined when the CT Air Guard had A-10s.
Im so jealous 😢
That’s also because the enemy is terrible at warfare… for now
Thank you for you're service!
Nothing new under the sun
They built this aircraft around the 30 mm gun & pilot . The pilot actually sits inside a thick walled titanium tub that keeps them safe from enemy ground fire because this aircraft flys so slow . It’s top speed is a staggering 420 MPH low & slow & it gets things done .
Stick operator I believe is the technical term
A10s are absolutely awesome
I served in the Air Force at Myrtle Beach in the 1980s- home of the A-10. As an anti-personnel weapon and tank killer it's as badass as they come. What gets me is at first they didn't want to use them in the Gulf War then changed their minds. Good thing. A-10s caused more damage, more kills, more death than any other weapon system.
You can,change a turbine in 55 minutes. The pilot sits in a bathtub of thick armor. Pretty cool.
"Rendered inoperable"? Man that tank was Swiss cheese!
"Inoperable" might be an understatement.
I remember during Desert Storm circa Feb. 1991 seeing about 9 A-10 chasing a refueling aircraft. I wish I had a camera at the time.
The warthog is actually a honey badger.
They should make a variant with better defensive and call it that cause this thing literally gives zero FsC
Growing up, there would occasionally be a pair fly over our house. We could always tell when they were about to, and I would rush outside and watch in awe as they fly over. Very distinct sound.
The A-10 working along with the Apache AH-64 attack helicopter provides the ultimate in close air support (CAS) and is easily a force multiplier individually...but together can totally decimate multiple heavily armored enemies plus soft targets AND reinforced bunkers and/or buildings using the latest Hellfire and Maverick missals at a stand-off of 5+ miles and with the Apache AH-64 Longbow's radar and fire control, it's fire & forget before the enemy even knows you are there. And when combined with the A-10's GAU-8 cannon and 10 hardpoints for numerous advanced weapons systems (rockets, missals, anti-radar and air to air munitions etc.) They are the most lethal team for CAS, esp. when covered by a few F-16 above. They are easily a tank's worst nightmare...ever! If they go to Ukraine, it'll be game over for all tanks and any artillery or other armor Russia has left. It won't be long either!
Not another dime for Ukraine! The U.S. needs to stop looking for wars and mind its own business. Whole thing is nothing but a huge money laundering operation & its the Ukranian people paying the price. We have LOTS of issues at home these BILLIONS of tax payer money could better address. People in that area have been fighting forever & if modern Ukraine cant stand on its own too bad. It is NOT a U S. allie and is Not in the U S. sphere of influence.
Missals is more powerful than missles?
or even missiles@@ManuelGarcia-iz3nq
Ukraine is done. They need to negotiate surrender
@@ManuelGarcia-iz3nqduh man. Do some research. People these days...
That thing looks awesome blacked out like that
I first learned about the A-10s, in a stupid way, from early GI Joe comics. But they built them in Hagerstown MD, only 25 minutes to my West, so we would see a lot of them flying around. Our Air national Guard in Maryland has a squadron, near Baltimore, so whenever there are flyovers for games and such, people go nuts. They have such a distinctive sound
I love the A-10!!! I want one for myself... for "rush-hour" traffic!!!
Ok so I am not the only one who heard him say it wrong.LOL
My kind of plane! Is just SO awesome. I’m so proud of our military and what they can do! Our AirForce is second to none.
A10 getting demolished by a r73:
This has got to be one of the best attack and support planes ever devised...It must be such a thrill operating it that that never gets old.
It's slow but seriously accurate
Older guy here, used to love the cobra rattler from gi joe back in the day which was designed directly from the a10, and now they are painting snake heads on the real thing, love it.
It was painted for the air unit it Fort Wayne, Indiana. They are called the Black Snakes. Sadly they no longer fly the a10 as of this year and are transitioning to the F16.
I still have mine!
2023 I Wish the USMC Had a Sea Version of A-10 Warthog, Semper-Fi.
This plane should have been the Marines base plane.
Other than a uh1 itwas our go to
I love the black and grey paint scheme! I hope the Air Force doesn’t get rid of the A-10.
ALWAYS been my favorite jet. So much power, the troops love it and tell me that jet doesnt have character just looking at it.
3,900 rounds per minute. That alone is hard to fathom but it sure chews up what ever it wants to.
They might as well start measuring in rounds per second.
When you're in the field and A-10s are doing live fire. It sounds so strong. Just pumps you up.
There is something special about this plane that brings respect and admiration from people.
First saw one over 30 years ago coming off the Atlantic over South Carolina . Even sounds like its screaming. What a beast
Bim just glad we have them on our side. The ammount of engineering on these is staggering tbe fact that they are straight up vehicle killers is a bonus.
A great plane that delivers the goods, and has a long service life for a great ROI
It is so good that the DOD decided not to eliminate the Warthog as we have no other ground support craft to even approach the effectiveness of the A-10.
Retirement in 5 years they're already phasing out the tooling required to overhaul the aircraft
I remember these at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. the Air Force did practice at the bone yard, back in 92-95. HOOAH
Could've sworn that I read not long ago that to the disappointment of many the A-10 was being phased out. It's an unbelievably effective platform......
The Air Force want to, but the Army doesn't
I overhaul these jets and they're slated to be retired in 5 years
@@brandonsmith606 But like what Phantom said, the big-wig desk jockey wingnuts at the Pentagon think we no longer need it, while the ground-pounders don't want to see it go ANYWHERE.
What is going to replace it?@@brandonsmith606
It’s because the Military Industrial Complex isn’t about defending America with weapons that actually work, it’s about making money while keeping the USA in thrall to Globalist causes-like propping up Ukraine’s dictator, letting China buy our food companies, and weakening our military.
Warthog ugly?? It's bloody beautiful.
Love the A10. I wonder why they dont mod planes like they do cars! Would love to see this thing capable of carrying more rounds of ammo of the GAU 1500 rounds aint enough!
1176
The magazine on the original was already the size of a Volkswagen beetle. Could that be why?
@@johnhanek167😂😂😂 not even close more like a bit bigger than a 55 gallon drum
@@april-wr1mf 1174...check tech data
This is what I wanted to fly as a kid, They would fly near the school and I could hear that gun in the distance at the Salsbury Plains in Britain
I just love this plane...
You say War Thog, I say warthog.
😳BBBBBRRRTTT
Love them planes ❣️not just because they were built about 10 blocks from my house but because they are
🇺🇲 AWESOME 🇺🇲
greatest plane ever made!
She freaking gorgeous 👍👍👍👍🍺🍺🍺🍺🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸I’m glad she is on our side👍👍👍
It's kinda like a crop duster,but a lot more powerful.
But to kill tanks
Most air force pilots still want to keep this flying tank they love the simplicity and its toughness
But tactically the planes makes less sense today and in the future. Today it's easier to get a drone or a swarm of drones in the air to observe or attack a target and it's way safer for the pilots. Still a nice aircraft, but an outdated one.
simplicity? where did you hear that? this aircraft is a maintenance nightmare. Everything breaks and with very loose tolerance over time and it requires a ridiculous amount of money to upkeep.
From air force pilots a lot of them want it and that's first hand information from a pilot
Still cheaper to maintain than modern aircraft your trying to assume you know everything you dont
@@tbnobs From the pilots that I talked to alot of them are not too interested in flying this 47 year old + aircraft. If anything the newer F-35 and F-22 are a bit envy.
When you were a kid : Bang ! your dead .
Now as an adult : BRRRRT ! their all dead .
Crazy how General Electric was all fan making and dishwasher making to Avenger destruction.
Got my brand new dishwasher. A-10 Those crystal silverware wine glasses cleaned up nice
Yeah. We bring good things to life. Now kill some shit.
Amazing vessels, great engineers
Brilliant design and capability!
The a10 was terrifying to its enemies, now it just became nightmare fuel
I didn't mean exactly like a crop duster. It can turn sharper,than one,with lower speed kinda. Never mind.
Just like the SR-71 Blackbird, the A-10 Warthog will go down as another military/engineering marvel.
Even though the one pictured at the beginning is a test plane. That color combo looks amazing.
That was not a test plane. It was comerative color scheme at the 122 fighter wing in Ft Wayne, Indiana. The aircraft was supposed to be painted back into the standard Air Force grey but was declined due to painting cost and the fact that the A-10C's at that base were retired and sent to a boneyard. Ultimately, the aircraft is still in black and likely to be placed in some base iun the US as part of a local air and space museum at an Air Force base.
loved watching them in action
We wouldn't mind having about fifty of these beauties in Ukraine. Excellent ground attack aircraft
They'll never get them. NOT ANOTHER U.S. TAXPAYER DIME TO UKRAINE! Nothing but a huge money laudering scam supporting a Nazi influenced government & killing innocent Ukrainians. Ukraine is NOT a U.S. ally, not a NATO member, and is not in the U.S. sphere of influence. If the idiot Europeans want to stick their noses (again) in other peoples business fine. But those wasted BILLIONS of U.S. taxpayer dollars could be much better used at home helping our own citizens, businesses, economy, military, upgrading /rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, and helping our real allies when needed like Israel.
Love the A10, always have.
man i like that paint job
Thanks Lee
The plane literally built around the gun, thing is awesome, and saved lots of lives
Nobody asked me, but an updated version of the A-10, should be in production. No, it's not stealthy, no it's not new, but a weapon system like this, doesn't need to be. It does need to be easily mass produced. It does need to be inexpensive to build and operate. It does need to be EFFECTIVE! War is coming! Any look at current events makes it clear. It's been said many times. "If you want peace? Prepare for war!" Our nation's leadership has, and continues to do the OPPOSITE! Clearly they want WAR!
Updating and modernizing old fighters is great! So far as that goes. But without new production? In a real war? They won't last long, against a capable and determined foe. That doesn't make the A-10 obsolete, anymore that a soldier on the ground will be obsolete. You need new A-10s for the same reason that you need new soldiers. In a real war, life is cheap, and casualties are common. Having A-10s over the battlefield could be the difference between victory and defeat.
The A-10 front gun is a great addition on the battlefield,but it could become obsolete when the battlefield changes.
@@galvinstanley3235 obsolete is a word easily used, depending upon one's view point. If the platform deploying the weapon is easily destroyed before it's use? Then the weapon is obsolete.
View point amounts to the percieved level of risk. Acceptable risk to some, is unacceptable to others. For example an A-10 operating at 400 mph, over the battlefield. Is much faster than a helicopter gunship flying ar 100 mph. All too often, "obsolete," is the label used to dismiss older weapon programs, , no longer in production. All that's really obsolete, is the production contract.
In particular, the F-35 with a 25 mm gun is said to be "less vulnerable" than the A-10 over a battlefield! The F-35 is using a gun that has a shorter range and much less striking power. Making the F-35 FAR more vulnerable to ground fire, than the A-10. Moreover the F-35 is not armored to withstand ground fire like the A-10. The F-35 would be less vulnerable to radar guided missiles than the A-10. At low levels the shielded, above wing turbofan engines of the A-10, have a MUCH lower IR signature. Compared to the super hot supersonic cruise engine of the F-35. Except that the F-35 has a current and very lucrative contract.
Stealth is the buzzword, for new aircraft today. Except that stealth technology doesn't mean much 400 feet over a battlefield. When everyone can see the aircraft, and use IR guided missiles to hit it. Needless to say that the A-10 needs a new production contract. THEN, we can get a more objective assessment of how "obsolete" the A-10 is.
@@scottjackson5173 Former F-16 Avionics Specialist here.
Its funny listening to people like you talk about these aircraft and what makes them vulnerable or effective. Your ideas aren't based on anything even remotely applicable to the battlespace these aircraft operate in and I can promise you that the things you're discussing aren't even being considered. Which is exactly why civilians keep begging to keep it while the actual warfighters in the USAF are telling anyone that will listen that the A-10 is far worn out it's effectiveness and has very little application on the modern battlefield.
No way in hell does an A-10 operate in Ukraine right now. It would ruin the stellar reputation the A-10 has earned over the past 40 years.
@@Danlovestrivium I understand your view point. Except that you're being deliberately obtuse. I NEVER suggested that the A-10 would be the stand alone solution for disputed airspace! The A-10 is just one type of aircraft the USAF uses. I shouldn't have to explain to you, concepts of establishing air superiority do I? The role of SAM suppression, Wild weasel units, stealth units. Air superiority fighters overhead. A-10s down low. It's a team effort. If all you understand is avionics. Stick your head, back into your hardware.
@@scottjackson5173 Again, this is all laughable, at best. I know you think you know more about this than the actual professionals (including the ones that fly them) making the call YEARS ago to retire the A-10, but I guess that's to be expected from someone that gets their information from WIki and CZcams.
They want to, but they cant get rid of it.... Grew up 8 miles from Grissom AFB in Indiana, they had 40 of these, flew in pairs for 30 years, 70-90's... targeted us on our tractors.... Saw them every day, for 30 years....
I flew an older plane of this type. Flew the TomCat and Mig too. In the Warthog, killed three tanks in one fly-by, lots of fun, top pops.
And then you woke up
Then his game crashed.
I love the Funderbolt War-Thog!
Recent events in Ukraine demonstrate that the "replacements" for the A-10, simply won't work. It's not just about low and slow. It's about IR signature and ruggedness. Something that the Russians don't have. Stealth matters little, when the troops on the ground, can see you, with shoulder launch missiles.
It also demonstrates that a ground attack aircraft needs great maneuverability and IR suppression, countermeasures, as well as decoy flares. So far, nothing the Russians have has done well over the battlefield. An expensive aircraft like the F-35, is too fragile, and too valuable to risk. So it's no replacement.
Yet it is being retired by 2029
It can absolutely be effective. If Ukraine had a few 100 of these they could have lit Russian columns up as soon as they were entering. The same if it was working in conjunction with the F-35. They will slowly be phased out, in favor of the F-35 lightning II, but they also said it would be retired in favor of the F-16. The A-10 is just hard to go out of style. Besides air support, its combination of large and varied ordinance load, long loiter time, accurate weapons delivery, field capability and survivability. It's also like a flying tank, with the A-10s cockpit and portions of its flight control system being protected by 1,200 pounds of titanium aircraft armor. It's also the cheapest to fly per hr.
@@johnwilliams5549 I think that you need to read my comment again. I wasn't criticizing the A-10. I hope that the F-35, will live up to it's reputation. I have serious doubts about that. Working with a modern version of the A-10, would be ideal. We will see.
@@upbeat3535
Obviously it will eventually be retired but they tried to retire it in 2015,2016,2017. Congress kept saying "we are not retiring it if we have no direct replacement".
A lot can happen in 6 years.
@@scottjackson5173 I wasn't disagreeing with your comment I was agreeing and adding to it. 😊👍
We have some kick ass sh.. God bless America
The hog is a badass killing machine, hands down my favorite jet
WOW, Thats a Tank HUNTER! John P.
WARRRRTT HOOOGGGGG Also none of those damage pictures were actual tank armor.
"War-Thog"!! Lmfao!
Awesome !
Fuck yeah! I remember the ol' Maverick giving em hell when they were trying to decom these badboys.
My all time favourite combat aircraft!
Brings out the big kid in me every time I hear that BRRRRRRRRRRRPPP!! 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥😂😂
"It might only last 30 seconds, but it's going to be a wild 30 seconds."
The Fat Electrician
And they wanted to retire this Why ? This is one badass machine.
They do the same with the AV8B Harrier
Whats most impressive is the improvement in camera quality
Love it. Used to work on an industrial estate in Westbury Wiltshire and the early “Tank Buster” as they were called flew low over us to play on Salisbury Plain. We waved at the pilots. Fantastic
I like that paint job
I tell ya man its Legendary 😎✈️
Pound for Pound the best weapon the American military ever created.
A-10 was wicked deadly to begin with 😮
Australia should buy these just because their so cool😊🇦🇺🇺🇲
Not just one of my all time favorite planes, but top ten things made by mankind. Up there the Porsche 911 and the SpaceX Raptor engine.
Hallo! Amazing and fantastic Airplane! 🙂
I couldnt take this serious after they called it the War Thog
They determined after careful examination that the tanks were rendered inoperable.
*shows picture of metal Swiss cheese*
The best war plane in the history!❤
Continue to improve and keep in service.
Those are not tanks, two of "tanks" are actually M110 howitzers. The other vehicles are M113 personnel carriers, a 50 cal can go through them.
Warth Hog? Warthog!
Omg the paint job🫡🇺🇸💪💪👏
WOW! I just LOVED how you guys managed to edit in (at 2:30) some great, completely out of context, B-roll from WWII, of a B&W AF promotional video of the 1st Black AF squadron, the Tuskegee airmen! Oh, and your background research sux. The DoD, the Pentagon, AND the USAF have been trying to retire the A-10 for over 10 years now, but Congress wouldn't let them until finally next year. And it's only going to be about a dozen or so. Surprise!!!
Very cool ❤
This is one best the toughest planes in us and they should give it up because flat out it kills anything you want and can take a hit and still keep going
Love to get one for my garage.
Ok, I can't help it, I have to point out that none of the targets they showed were tanks.....Maybe one that you can't hardly see and it appeared to be an older model probably a M-47. The rest were m113's and self propelled howitzers.
They're not going to SHOW the active aircraft, nor the latest prototypes. Damn, get a grip
Best US Plane ever !!
That's the biggest can opener I've ever seen. Lol