USAF is removing all Warthog A10s from service. The beloved close air support will fly it's last by end of year. Millions are left wondering if the F35,recently adding panel blow off incidents to it's long list of troubles, will be able to cover double duty in high risk situations it was not intended for. This may result in a lack of full spectrum dominance and the rise of Airsea battle doctrine. No Army affiliated comments on the matter though that branch will be the most impacted.

>>64006403 (OP)
Deprecated by drones. Many such cases.

It's about fucking time. Retire already you fat cunt.

>>64006403 (OP)
ok, tell me where I can buy one on a government surplus site for 10k

>>64006403 (OP)
If these things were modified to have a bigger fuel tank and the usa adopted israel style long range glide bombs these things could actually become very powerful in modern warfare.

The usa has like 220 of these and 700 were built so there are spare parts, imagine these things with SPICE 250, even 20 of those could even change the course of the ukraine war

>>64006403 (OP)
> will be able to cover double duty in high risk situations it was not intended for.
Last time I checked, the F-35 was explicitly designed with the capability to drop smart weapons.

Good. Scrap each and every single one of them, melt them all down into toilets for all I care.

>>64006951
Dude, just let them die. There's no reason to keep them. Fitting 5 A-10s with all that shit would cost as much as a F-35.
Ukraine doesn't have enough pilots to justify their constant falling out the sky after encountering the slightest resistance.

>>64007129
>constant falling out the sky after encountering the slightest resistance.
>number of A-10s lost as a result of enemy action throughout their entire service history - five

>>64007129
>Ukraine doesn't have enough pilots
Ukies don't want them because they see them as too slow for their needs

>>64006403 (OP)
The A-10 is a flawed design, due to being built around the gun, which is its least effective weapon, yet takes up, proportionally, the largest amount of its theoretical payload.
The A-10 has a max nominal payload of a bit over 7 tons on its hardpoints. However, the GAU-8 + ammo weighs about 1.8 tons. So, if one were to create a hypothetical clean-slate A-10 II design, it would have around 8.5 tons (to account for the GAU-22A which would likely be used as onboard gun). That's over 20% payload increase.
Problem is, nobody wants a dedicated CAS plane in this day and age. Especially not when the super mudhen exists, has 50% more payload, and twice the combat range.

Months before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Erik Prince suggested to the White House that they give A10s, F-15s, F-16s and other aircraft that were being retired to Ukraine. He believed that Ukraine having a superior Air Force would have prevented Russia from invading.

https://youtu.be/lF2fpyvWHvQ?si=FnLHU1nxIxwnXtLu&t=235

The A-10 is literally the perfect anti-drone aircraft. It can carry 114 APKWS rockets plus 1,174 rounds in the gun. It can fly at much slower speeds and is better at lower altitudes than other aircraft, qualities which are perfect for drone hunting - it's much better at hugging the ground near enemy SAM umbrellas, if necessary. It has better duration than most fighters. It can be forward deployed where other aircraft can't allowing a layered A-10 "zone defense" against long range drones. It's capable of much faster speeds thus shorter response time than any of the prop aircraft being considered for drone interceptors. Plus, we already have them so converting them to drone hunters is way cheaper than buying brand new, yet capability-inferior prop aircraft. They're cheaper per flight hour than F-35s. It's basically the perfect choice for a drone interceptor, and we're just throwing them away because they're "too old" and "too vulnerable" while we're simultaneously talking about bringing back a modern Skyraider or converting light prop planes which are all basically ultra-expensive Pipers - none of which are as survivable nor capable of carrying more than a fraction of anti-drone ordnance the A-10 can. Forget its performance in Desert Storm. None of those concerns matter to a plane hunting long-range "strategic" and terror drones well behind friendly lines.

>>64007237
It wouldn't have been of much help. A pilot needs an absolutely bare minimum of 1 year of training, in order to master landing in a way that the plane is still flyable afterwards. Nevermind actually using all the gizmos.
And Soviet plane controls are completely different. Even their artificial horizon works completely differently.

>>64006403 (OP)
fake news.
DoD only suggested this. Congress likely won't approve.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2025/07/11/some-a-10-warthogs-may-dodge-retirement-under-proposed-senate-bill/

>>64006403 (OP)
>in high risk situations
And the slow ass manually aimed warthog would? In any actual high risk environment these things would drop like flies.

>>64007237
>Give
How about fucking no. You greasy little Slav niggers want anything, you’ll pay for it.

>>64007318
the value of something that is getting retired is $0

>>64007247
now, let's melt all thunderchuds and bury the postproducts in the desert

>>64006403 (OP)
I can see how this could be a problem when there isn't even any talk about building an A-11

>>64006403 (OP)
>It's 2025
>The USAF is cancelling the A-10
>again

>>64007325
It's actually negative, since you need to pay to get rid of it.

Old fat hag

>>64007247
meh
the F-94 is the perfect drone interceptor
better engines are a dime a dozen, there is plenty of room for a look-down-shoot-down radar, take the FFAR and make it radio command guided with a laser prox fuse
96 missiles, you can snipe all day
call it F-94D for drone

>>64007673
This.
>fat
>weird face
>torpedo tits
>horrible personality
>gimmicky and unfashionable
>dumb
>expensive
>hates British people
I don't understand what people see in her.

>>64006403 (OP)
I don’t get how the F-35 is being compared to the A-10 in any way shape, or form. Why isn’t it being compared to the F-16 when it comes to CAS?

>>64007751
Retarded drones like the A-10 because of Facebook and hate the F-35 because of MSM. To them, they are antipodes: the A-10 is what we need and can't get because of le corrupt politicians/ebul USAF who want to sacrifice our brave servicemen to fund the F-35 boondoggle.
It is the political underdog despite dominating out in the field, exactly like in their Tom Cruise slop.

>>64007751
Because F-35 is far better suited for the role than F-16

>>64007731
She's the most American plane there is. If you say otherwise you're gay

>>64006403 (OP)
Wouldn't a Super Tucano do basically all the jobs that A10s do but cheaper and better? Or a Textron Scorpion?
The A10 main gun doesn't have any value on the modern battlefield.

>>64006403 (OP)
What the hell is this?

>>64007935
They don't want a cheaper plane. They want a plane that will absolutely break the budget long term and make lockmart ultra rich with their DLCs. It's good business to bury the A10. Without a cheap plane, the air force will be forced to use more expensive planes to bomb camel herders.

Remember, that's why we fucked the B1B fleet. We used strategic bombers to make tactical strikes against sheep herders in Afghanistan. And presto!!! We need more B21s since the B1 airframes were used up.

>>64007237
Erik Prince not being a total faggot? That's a new one.

>>64008046
Fuel nozzle.

>>64007935
>flying 30mm autocannon has no value
>while tracked 30mm autocannons are among the most useful assets despite their far more limited ability to engage enemy armor

>>64006403 (OP)
>beloved
Get this man the 2025 comedy award.

>>64008100
Really?

>>64006403 (OP)
>high risk scenario's it was not intended for
you're a fucking idiot and you should feel ashamed, the F35 and basically EVERY single other jet serving CAS roles has had better surviveability rates than the A-10

>>64006442
no, deprecated by being a relic from the 80's, it should've been retired long ago and you're a retarded dronenigger.

>>64008118
Of course not you dumb nigger.
They actually refuel it through the gun barrels.

>>64008049
>a cheaper plane
you mean obsolete plane that simply can't do it anymore in an even halfway contested airspace.

>>64008103
that argument is peak retardation, extrapolate it and find out for yourself

>>64007133

5 losses to ground fire is a lot considering the total time the A-10 spent flying against an enemy with widespread 1970s manpads was for 3 weeks in the winter of 1991. The A-10 was joint 2nd for air losses with the AV-8 Harrier with only the Tornado being higher with 9. Ofc attacking unsuppressed enemy airfields and getting got by a Roland SAM or one of the hundreds of AAA guns is more understandable than bumbling about in southern Iraq and dying to 1 (one) iraqi with a Strela.

>>64007198
>super mudhen
?

Kill A-10 haters. Behead A-10 haters. Roundhouse kick an A-10 hater into the concrete. Slam dunk A-10 haters into the trashcan. Crucify filthy A-10 haters. Defecate in an A-10 haters food. Launch A-10 haters into the sun. Stir fry A-10 haters in a wok. Toss A-10 haters into active volcanoes. Urinate into a A-10 haters gas tank. Judo throw A-10 haters into a wood chipper. Twist A-10 haters heads off. Report A-10 haters to the IRS. Karate chop A-10 haters in half. Curb stomp A-10 haters. Trap A-10 haters in quicksand. Crush A-10 haters in the trash compactor. Liquefy A-10 haters in a vat of acid. Eat A-10 haters. Dissect A-10 haters. Exterminate A-10 haters in the gas chamber. Stomp A-10 haters skulls with steel toed boots. Cremate A-10 haters in the oven. Lobotomize A-10 haters. Mandatory abortions for A-10 haters. Grind A-10 haters fetuses in the garbage disposal. Drown A-10 haters in fried chicken grease. Vaporize A-10 haters with a ray gun. Kick old A-10 haters down the stairs. Feed A-10 haters to alligators. Slice A-10 haters with a katana.

>>64008046

Air refueling nozzle aka aeropucci

>>64006403 (OP)

was a long time coming. As cool as it is it has been completely superseded by drones. 2 predators can do the same job of loitering/patrolling and are just 1000x cheaper and can be operated by Dave "Fat Cunt" Smith 5000 miles away from his man cave.

The A-10 is too old and fatigued to keep using.

>>64008291
F-15EX Eagle II

>>64008896
More like “SEX Eagle” amirite?
Yeahimrite

>>64006403 (OP)
>>64008107
Beloved by FLOT in the same way your landscaper loves instant ramen cups and lottery scratchers

>>64007237
Or, you know, the Ukrainians could have invested in their air force once in their thirty year existence.

>>64007247
the problem is that they aren't equipped for aerial combat, they'd need a radar and avionics upgrades to be drone hunters. why would you spend the time and money on upgrading a limited pool of planes that haven't been made since the 80's vs a clean sheet design?

>>64006951
>long range glide bombs
Altitude and speed during release dictate the range of glide bombs.
The A-10s struggle over 15k ft and they cruise at like 280-290 knots due to the long loiter time requirement imposing anemic engines on it.

>>64008049
>They want a plane that will absolutely break the budget long term and make lockmart ultra rich with their DLCs
But enough about Arizona lawmakers defending the A-10 to the death because it brings jobs to their district.

>>64006951
It would be way better to put a larger fuel tank on literally any other modern plane anon. If you did that with an a10 that would just mean you're carrying around an oversized gun with a ton of ammo for no reason.

>>64008939
Anon they only stopped being a Russian sock puppet a little over a decade ago

>>64007935
Correct. Super tacos and UAVs are cheaper per flight our to drop jdams on people without air defenses.

And the A-10 just gets chewed up like Frogfoots against even modest defenses.

>>64009130
cope excuse, the Donbas conflict showed their need for better air power and they still refused to put a dime into their air force

>>64009167
With what money? Up until 2022, literally nobody wanted to send any sort of gibs over. They would rather upgrade vatnig FCS with the latest stuff, than throw a shitty early-gen Sagem Matis at porkie T-64s.

>>64009178
their own money

>>64009191
nigga they're one of the poorest countries 8n europe

>>64009205
croatia and greece can afford rafales

>>64009215
croatia and greece aren't involved in an ongoing conflict with the rusnigs

Hate A10. Hate F35. Love Tucano. Simple as.

>>64007325
The value of a Slav and their stupid retard war is $0 too. I’d rather sell the A-10s to private collectors than give another goddamn thing to those faggots.

>>64009286
>>>/pol/

>>64009226
cope excuse, in fact, being at war (like Ukraine has been for a decade) is a very good reason to buy more fighters

>>64006403 (OP)
>noooooo not the reddit brrrrrttttttt plane meme!!1
Who fucking cares aside from r/NCD tranny tourists? Scrap them all and build more F-35s from the scrapped resources.

>>64009318
it is a very good reason to buy planes but it also has a negative effect on the economy that generates the money to buy said planes

>>64009324
>jets
Ewwwwww

>>64008303
>just 1000x cheaper
not really, unit(4 drones) cost is like 20 mil

>>64006951
>usa adopted israel style long range glide bombs

I wonder if Ukraine would pick them up for this alone. You'd get them relatively cheap, in quantity and there would be plenty of staff available for training. Maybe some pilots could be convinced to take a Slavic holiday, especially now with awacs.

>>64006403 (OP)
Reddit on suicide watch

>>64006403 (OP)
While the BRRRRRT is funny, the A-10 is a meme aircraft that has long overstayed its welcome. There are way more effective options than the flying autocannon.

>>64009286
>t.
sending over this old shit saves american taxpayer money you inbred poltard, due to not having storage/upkeep or dismantling/scraping costs anymore.

>>64009940
I’d rather spend the money on scrapping them than on some dipshit Slav scum.
>>64009312
Mad because bad.

>>64009951
>I’d rather spend the money on scrapping them than on some dipshit Slav scum.
that's because you're a retarded turdie, luckily you have no say in the matter

>>64009940
it gets parked in a desert

>>64007711
Great idea, except unlike the A-10 we don't have a fleet of F-94s, nor a logistics system, nor a bunch of trained personnel, nor current weapons systems integration.

>>64010036
Whiter than you, Yuri.
You may continue to be upset in my presence, trash.

When are they going to depreciate all manned aircraft? Pretty much pointless when you could just have a drone missile truck preforming the same roles.

>>64010143
post hands gun and outlet

>>64010157
>>>/pol/

>>64010159
lol confirmed turdie

>>64010159
Sorry but thirdies like you should go back to your containment board.

>>64008303
>1000x cheaper and can be operated by Dave "Fat Cunt" Smith 5000 miles away from his man cave.
True.

>>64010157
Post hand, gun and land.
You’re not some thirdie-tier rental peasant, are you, Anon?

>>64007642
>>64007325
And since you piggers need it, it's now worth a billion dollars. Each.

>>64009940
Unironically this. The homeless can live in the APCs and that'd be a worthier cause than propping up corrupt slavs fighting retarded slavs. No free handouts

>>64007325
They we'll just throw them in the ocean instead. Why would they want something of no value?

>>64010975
>>64010979
>>64011019
Nice samefaggotry.

>>64011033
Nope, you're just a retard who cannot believe he isn't in an echo chamber like you are used to.
And you got BTFO by>>64010787

>>64010063
the A-10 has no room or power for a radar
ok, alternate plan:
>bring back the Prowlers
>the backseaters are now a Wingman herder and a WSO/radar operator
>defensive ECMO stays
>pilot stays
>rip out jammer replace with high powered AESA radar
>two wing mounted LAU-131A pods
>two HARMs or fuel
>Litening pod

>>64010787
>posting someone else's shit

>>64008046
It's the speaker that makes the BRRRRRRRT noise louder.

>>64011601
We could stand to upgrade the A-10.

>Stronger engines
>Downsize canon to 25mm
>Use extra space and power for radar
>Add some stealth features
Boom.

>>64011720
at that point, why? might as well just build a different plane

>>64011601
You had me at “bring back the prowlers”

wonder if it could be recycled, like using the engines in a bigass drone, or the gun for some ground-based defense system.
or have the plane be controlled by computer, and send a whole flock towards Russia loaded up with countermeasures to make them waste anti air

>>64010787
>2019

>>64006403 (OP)
First F-35 losses are probably going to be from running and gunning low because their pilots will interpret "do what the A-10 did" to be literally attempting the A-10's tactics.

>>64007935
The Super Tucano is an even bigger meme based off of technology that was deprecated in WW fucking II whose only use case is fighting off drones and helicopters.

>>64011880
ikr
>>64011720
the gun doesn't draw much power at all
if you delete it you will have space for an awkward belly-mount radar, but still not enough power

>>64011937
Some stronger engines should solve the power problem.

>>64007915
The B-52 is the most American plane
>ur g-
Quiet Spreytard.

>>64009367
Put your trip back on, Norktard

>>64012036
Someone please inform talentless hack "designers" that making round things angular does not make them look futuristic nor cool.
Doesn't matter whether it's an engine cowling or a firearm suppressor.

>>64006403 (OP)
But can we mount the gun on a pickup truck? Possibly with another truck carrying ammo.

>>64006403 (OP)
Good thing its replacement is already in service waiting for deployment.

>>64012036
heat management immediately goes to shit
the Prowler has no such issues

>>64011893
>Not saving all your best gun pics to the cloud and revisiting them over and over
It’s like you don’t enjoy having memories or taking pics of your cool stuff.

>>64013414
Prowler?

>>64014758
Prowler.

>>64007254
>It wouldn't have been of much help. A pilot needs an absolutely bare minimum of 1 year of training
Anon, sheep dipping is a thing ya know right....? Just have a newbie co-pilot learn from the A-10 expert who got his Ukrainian passport like a week ago despite barely knowing Western Vodkaness and is just in it for the war tourism. Russia did the same thing in the Korean war with their MIGS because Best Korea didn't really have a real air force back then.

>>64007502
>>again
Yeah, I expect them to be retrofitted/refurbished and continue being flown by nostalgic boomers just out of ultra high grade spite alone. And that's assuming Neo-Boomerism doesn't become a factor and zoomers start liking it much like when they learned stick shift is a thing or started buying up old CRT monitors.

>>64007731
>>hates British people
Understandable, have you ever seen a tourist from the UK visit a neighboring European country? Bongistani's overwhelming deserve the xenophobia. In fact I think they're outright B&'d from the Netherlands/Denmark. I'm sure their ancestors are proud of that achievement.

>>64009286

Kill yourself, you contrarian cunt nugget.

>>64009940
>dismantling
Fine if they wanna send them over seas to folks who will using even if begrudgingly since those things are just ATV aluminum coffins nowadays with FPV drones being a thing BUT why not just auction them in a hypothetical scenario where we didn't end up in a Nu-cold war? There's plenty of larpers who'd love to buy a M113 to drive around in on their way to work or the grocery store.
>Errrrrrmmmm but no individual needs an APC though
It's the BILL OF RIGHTS ANON, not the bill of needs.

>>64006689
My point exactly.

>>64014853
>Literally spitting lead.jpg
Typical 30x173mm NATO cartridges used in the GAU-8/A such as the PGU-13D/B HEI do not contain lead.

>>64008046
It's the docking port, where you dock your penis with it.

>>64014913
>It's the docking port, where you dock your penis with it.
Okay smart guy, what does a pregnant A10 look like and how long does she labor for before giving birth? Asking for purely scientific reasons of course and I'm absolutely not in the process of looking up nearby military airbases within reasonable driving distances with the intent on scoping out an unguarded lonely A10 or anything like that.

>>64014903
>Typical 30x173mm NATO cartridges used in the GAU-8/A such as the PGU-13D/B HEI do not contain lead.
Well you got me there...

>>64011601
Ok, the Prowler has a lower stall speed than even the A-10, is pretty rugged, and was built with tough for carrier us so foreward deployment shouldn't be a problem. I'd support that. But no Prowlers are have flown in a few years, while A-10s are still flying. Otherwise, that's a good idea.

>>64014903
>30x173mm NATO
Do they make any fully semi automatic rifles chambered in that that I could use for home defense purposes?

>>64008939
Anon...Russia actively interfered in Ukraine since their independence, they only restarted back in 2014

>>64017596
There are a shit ton of 30mm STANAG calibers but the least unfeasible thing for 30x173 is probably the Oerlikon KCA/KCE.
It's technically not a rifle but an automatic revolver, like most autocannons.
It's only 136 kg unloaded so yeah it's basically man-portable home defense weapon. Recoil? Nah don't worry about that.

(The madlad responsible for Maadi-Griffin anti-materiel rifles actually prototyped one in 30x173mm but for obvious reasons it didn't pan out)

>>64017638
>Recoil? Nah don't worry about that.
I mean, purpose-built aircraft can (barely) handle it without falling out of the sky.
Shouldn't be too bad for your shoulder.

>>64006951
>If these things were modified to have a bigger fuel tank and the usa adopted israel style long range glide bombs these things could actually become very powerful in modern warfare.
You mean like how the F-35A has triple the combat radius, and in a non-stealth environment can carry more weapons than the A-10, AND gets over target faster, AND can properly talk to the ground FAC?

>>64019131
Yes but the f35 cost a shit ton and leaders proved they are not willing to put them at risk (except israel), also the new generation of glide weapons has a shit ton of range there is even an israeli glide bomb with a small cheap engine with 200km range those things can even take anti air systems at a distance yeah the f35 is way better but you could give the improved a10s to your allies in proxy wars and alter the balance of power there

>>64020118
It would cost way more to build a new fleet of A-10s, retard. And the current fleet needs to retire.

>>64008123
70s, actually. In fact, it's outdated even for a 70s plane since it was made without a radar.

>>64020422
It was designed for fighting in Vietnam and first fought in a completely different war in the Gulf.

>>64020409
At this point we might as well dig out the plans for the A-12 Avenger II. It even kinda looks like the B-21 Raider.

>>64007133
It was literally withdrawn from action in 91 due to losses and non- total loss damage. And that was 70 years ago. Let it go boomer

>>64006403 (OP)
They should have been removed 15 years ago.

Historical note: they weren't originally intended for cold-war era peer war either, they were designed for Vietnam-type low intensity wars of their time. Specifically manually aimed 14.5mm HMGs for AA were their main 'threat.'

>>64006442
could have turned it into a drone carrier, desu. they could sling quite a few not-lancet drones under that thing.

>>64020478
23mm were the common AAA gun at the time it was designed, so that's what the "bathtub" was made to protect the pilot from.

But the Soviets switched to newer systems with 30mm guns while the A-10 was still in development.

>>64020430
Then it failed already since it didn't have the means to actually detect forces moving through the jungle or precision weapons capable of hitting forces already engaged with friendlies without risking friendly fire. As I understand it, the A-10 couldn't even use laser guided bombs before the Pave Penny upgrade despite the tech being first used in 1968

>>64020487
Radar-guided 23mm wasn't what the A10 was designed to fight as a system. It was something the armor was uprated for because the opportunity to spend the weight was there. Read the design docs on DTIC. The A10 wasn't intended to fight radar-guided AA guns. Mk1 eyeball with HMGs in a low intensity brushfire war was the specced opposition.

>>64020506
It could only fly at night in Desert Storm because it used a Maverick Missile rigged up to a screen in the cockpit as an IR viewer.

>>64006403 (OP)
At this rate the A10 fanboys in government will literally have to see half the fleet get chewed up in 72 hours from competent AD before they even take a moment to say, "Hey maybe this isn't Iraq."

>>64022284
Just send them to Ukraine. That's the kind of conflict they were meant for.

>>64022898
What would Ukraine use them for? Maybe they could mount the guns on ground vehicles and use the airframes as trainers?

>>64022980
Currently, Ukaraine is using F-16s to shoot down drones. They load them with laser guided pods of hydra missiles and shoot down the drones. An A10 could do this all day, leaving the f-16s free to do real jobs.

>>64023002
Can you tell me how far out the A-10's radar would be able to find drones? Thanks.

>>64023052
Jet based radar can't see drones well to begin with, since they're so small. The A10 would be directed by powerful ground radar and use its thermal camera to lock on.

>>64023064
Jet radar can absolutely see the kind of Shaheds that F-16s are swatting with laser guided rockets.

>>64023074
Well I'm sure the A10 could still help in that role.

>>64023161
What's the range of the A-10's radar for detecting something like a Shahed? F-16s like to slave the laser designator to their radar beam.

>>64023052
>>64023167
>A-10's radar
It doesn't have one.

>>64023167
>F-16s like to slave the laser designator to their radar beam.
Do you have a source on that BS? I believe they use IRST and slave the laser to that.

>>64023309
Litening and Sniper pods don't have IRST. They search and track with the radar and slave the laser designator, which is on the pod, to the radar.
Radar is vastly superior to visual spectrum for just about everything. It's even used for ground attack with high resolution SAR mapping.

>>64022898
They were meant to die within days in that conflict. The A-10 just fucking sucks in all regards. It has a lower endurance and shorter loiter time, mediocre payload, it's slow, expensive, doesn't have a radar or good sensors, and it's vulnerable and inflexible. And that's not to mention the uselessness of the fuckhueg rotary doohickey.
Its only saving grace was its pilots who tended to be better trained in the ground attack and CAS roles, but I don't think their training is that much better than that of multirole pilots now.

Jets like the Textron Scorpion are much less expensive and are a better fit for the Shahed-hunting role with their higher endurance and lower cognitive load, if equipped with a proper radar. Either way, it's not something .mil seems to lose a lot of sleep over, multiroles can handle the mission just fine.

>>64010043
Donating or selling it for a symbolic price is always better since you get potential customers for spare parts, maintenance and upgrade packages. Its usually a win-win situation. Not talking strictly about aircraft here.

>>64023669
>Litening is an integrated targeting pod that mounts externally to the aircraft. The targeting pod contains a high-resolution, forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor that displays an infrared image of the target to the aircrew
>An on-gimbal inertial navigation sensor establishes line-of-sight and automatic boresighting capability.
>The pod is equipped with a laser designator for precise delivery of laser-guided munitions. A laser rangefinder provides information for various avionics systems, for example, navigation updates, weapon deliveries and target updates.
>The targeting pod includes an automatic target tracker to provide fully automatic stabilized target tracking at altitudes, airspeeds and slant ranges consistent with tactical weapon delivery maneuvers.
>These features simplify the functions of target detection and recognition, and permit attack of targets with precision-guided weapons on a single pass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/AAQ-28_Litening

Well, that stuff you said about it not even having IRST was somewhat untrue, huh? It's literally 90% IRST.

>>64023749
Are you a bot?

>>64014982
there is also the option of, instead of doing away with most of the jamming capability, you fucking soup it up, add a laser and make it into the first directed energy fighter, swatting drones out of the sky with angry light

>>64023781
>Get proven wrong objectively
>Immediately resort to accusing someone of being a bot.
This is called ad hominem. It's generally used when someone has run out of counterarguments, but doesn't wish to concede. By the way, I can say "nigger", if that helps you come to grips with the fact that a real human has proven you wrong.

So anyway, it looks like we've come to the conclusion that the A10 should be on drone hunting duty in Ukraine. It just needs a Litening pod and it's good to go.

>>64023858
I'm just confounded by how you concluded that a TGP is an IRST ('search and track') system just because it's FLIR, even though it can't search and can barely track. IRST isn't that good for drone detection and tracking anyway, especially when more accurate and longer range radar pods like the AN/ASQ-236 exist.

>>64023858
Maybe as an APKWS platform but the lack of radar is hurting the A-10. Most of these drones are pure electric and don't have a big heat signature you'd see with a jet engine. It also won't be able to spot SAMs until it's too late to do anything.

>>64023916
>IRST ('search and track')
There's no need to be leaving out the first part. Lintening is a targeting pod which contains a range of tracking functions, and it use an IR camera. It has IRST functionality as a core feature.

>>64023230
>it doesn't have one
AHAAHAHA WHAT, no wonder it's responsible for the most friendly fire incidents of any US plane. I thought its electronics were just shit and cut down because boomers were like "its le unproven and experimental tech", not that they just didn't include one. So this thing at best is flying over friendly territories trying to manually aim with its inaccurate gun to shoot down drones it can barely see, and then getting blown up from over the horizon

>>64024082
>It has IRST functionality as a core feature.
No, it doesn't. It was enough to be ignorant and pugnacious, you don't have to make shit up too.
Litening was designed for air-to-ground and it can lase airborne targets when slaved to the radar, but it is not an IRST system whatsoever.

>>64024173
I would hardly call referring to something as what it is to be ignorant. Water is wet and the sky is blue. That is unless the water is frozen/evaporated, or the time of day is sunrise/sunset/nighttime and it's not cloudy, but you know what I mean. Litening fulfills the same functions as an IRST system, period.

>>64023858
>So anyway, it looks like we've come to the conclusion that the A10 should be on drone hunting duty in Ukraine. It just needs a Litening pod and it's good to go.
Maybe there's a reason the US hasn't been using A-10s for APKWS sniping of Shaheds, and given everything from Harriers to F-15Es have, I think a lack of radar is probably the reason.

>>64024082
>>64024173
...Y'all realize that IRS&T is generally inferior to radar for finding targets, right? Especially flying ones without RAM coatings?

>>64024379
Right... I will leave you to it.
>>64024761
Yes, that's what I've been trying to say. But the guy who types like a Soviet caricature also thinks the Litening is an IRST sensor.

>>64024851
Don't fight battles you don't need to.

>>64007247
I would rather see the A10 turned into a drone and 20 A-10 kamikaze themselves into the Kremlinn

>>64024904
At least they go out in a blaze of glory rather than rusting away in their hangers.

I assume A10 is only used when air superiority is achieved? Wouldn't AC130 be better in that situation?

>>64025198
The A-10 is supposed to be AA resistant. Flying lower used to make them harder to hit with long range SAMs.

>>64025198
I've got some news for you about the vulnerability of a C-130.

>>64026161
>>64026155
>>64026148
You're going to get John McCain hot and bothered.

>>64024172
The A-10 is so austere that Pierre Sprey claimed he helped design it (he didn’t). It was outdated by the early 1980s and received only limited upgrades in the mid 00s. It’s cool as hell, but it’s a dinosaur without enough thrust or electrical power and it’s too old and not common enough to bother upgrading again. It would need new wings and new engines and a new cockpit at minimum to stop being a shitheap, and it would be cheaper to just make a different plane new instead.

>>64025198
>Wouldn't AC130 be better in that situation?

>>64026385
Was this the largest loss of life in one incident/action for US forces in 1991?

>>64020522
>Mk1 eyeball with HMGs in a low intensity brushfire war was the specced
armour protection
the A-10 was intended to drop Rockeye cluster the Soviet tank horde, strafe whatever it could, and then die
they probably figured the armour was useful for resisting the AA HMGs many Soviet tanks mounted

>>64006403 (OP)
good riddance

>>64023002
>leaving the f-16s free to do real jobs

You mean get vaporized right on the tarmac? Slavniggers gonna slavnigger

The A10 only has use against poor third worlders who can't (or aren't allowed) to shoot back. Now that even the most podunk guerrilla outfit can get some degree of AA the A10 is just throwing money into a furnace. Retards still think it's the late 90's/early 00's where America could fly the Wright Brothers plane over the Middle East unopposed.

>>64026308
>and it would be cheaper to just make a different plane new instead.
Plus with the F-15E, F-16. F/A-18s, F-35, B-1B, B-21, etc, there's plenty of aircraft in active inventory that already do what it did better.

>>64007198
Do you have any fucking idea how many hajis were exploded with that cannon?

>>64026745
Not that many, really. Most of the Desert Storm tank kills were via Mavericks. And F-111s had twice as many tank kills.

>>64026459
Not the poor innocent F-16s!!!!
https://youtu.be/7FwDMzIbZrg?t=265

>>64026459
Isn't that from when the Belgians decided to do a bit of blue on blue ground-level target practice? That tricolor on the rudder looks Belgian.

>>64027455
yes it is
the troll always posts that