I wonder what will replace the a-10?

They had been flying this bad boy for awhile now,they must have something in design that will replace it sometime in the future dont you think?

www.strategypage.com...

Current plans have the A-10 airframes going until 2028 or so. They are in the process of putting new wings, a new power bus, adding new weapon systems, and a major cockpit overhaul. At some point it will be replaced, but they have bought themselves a good bit of time before that has to happen with the A-10C upgrade.

What a beautiful B1Rd the A-10 is.
That airframe was flying even when I was in in the mid 70's. What does that tell us about the quality of American ingenuity in this day and age?

I would love to see what five a10s could do to a Chinese tank division.

reply to post by alienstar
I've seen A-10's at work.
What happened to the ChiCom tank division?

reply to post by alienstar

I wonder what will replace the a-10?

Nothing that is currently in the inventory or it would have already been replaced. The A-10 has been on the chopping block before and it always pulls through, somehow.

The Air Force talks of using the F-35 as a replacement, but come on, that's like taking a knife to a sledgehammer fight.

Supposedly the F-35 is supposed to replace the A-10, but then again if I remember correctly the F-16 was supposed to do the same thing...
There will always be a place for the A-10 -

Here is a good example of why a close air support aircraft should be designed for durability and ruggedness instead of fast and stealthy.

This A-10 reportedly made a wheels up landing after suffering a hydraulic failure due to a gun malfunction.



As you can see, very little damage was sustained. Vertical fins, rudders, vent mast, and antennas.

Airforce Link

Check out the damage to the gun in this high-resolution photo.

the plane is an amazing piece of hardware... why would the USAAF want to replace it... if ain't broke don't fix it... it does it exactly what it has been designed to do and it does it amazingly other than a few upgrades which people have already discussed their is no reason to want something differnt

raptor1

Glad they put chocks on that one incase she rolled away :p

reply to post by Boone 870

I'm curious what that is on the right wing, hanging on the pylon. I don't recognize that one.

Reality - if Obama gets in office then NOTHING will replace it. (and yes, I think he'll be getting in). He has specifically said he would cut future combat systems spending and totally cut the V22 (among other things).

Say goodbye to Boeing Philadelphia.

When you wish to speculate about what can replace the A-10, you have to remember who is in the White House and who is in the Senate. If everyone goes along with a POTUS who wants to cut the hell out of our military and defense, then NOTHING will replace the A-10.

Video 1

video 2

video 3

video 4

NOTE - I understand this is 'aircraft projects' and not the poltiics forum. But we all have to understand that politicians vote on this stuff. So I'm providing the information to you.

the only thing that could replace the a-10
is a new build a-10 with 2008 engines and hardware

maintainright-
SAFETY FIRST! This accident happened about two weeks after the B-1 rolled off the runway at Guam, don't wanna make that mistake again.

Zaph-
Good catch, I didn't look at it very closely and just assumed that it was a Sidewinder. It is an ACMI (Air Combat Maneuvering and Instrumentation) pod.

Jezza-

The A-10 requirements office at Air Combat Command has signed off on studies for a more powerful engine for the aircraft. Campbell pointed out that while the A-10 was never designed for speed, a thrust improvement will allow it to take off from shorter distances and get better climb rates.

Work has also begun on a helmet mounted cueing system for A-10 pilots—a device that projects information seen on a head-up display onto their visors, allowing them to cue weapons to targets in their line of vision. "It’s the last thing you need in this jet to complement all the integration," Campbell said. Assuming testing goes well in Arizona later this year, Campbell said A-10 pilots could be seeing an HMCS as soon as next year. airforce-magazine.com

It looks like new engines could be on the way very soon.

I bet they remove the heavy bathtub of armor that the pilot sits in. The US military has decided that the equipment is more valuable than the warrior. Pilots are easy to make and aircraft are hard to make. Blood is cheaper than oil now.

reply to post by earthman4


Even if they wanted to, why? You CAN'T remove the bathtub, it's part of the structure of the aircraft. Besides which, that bathtub protects the equipment as well as the pilot.

double post

[edit on 6/14/2008 by Zaphod58]

ROFL cuz we all know that when the pilot dies the plane just flies itself back to base automatically.

Actually the F-35 STOVL may be the replacement IF and WHEN they field a directed energy weapon on that platform IMHO. Untill then its the Hog all the way.

Nothing can replace the A-10 Except for a plane similar like it.

And infact, it is unreplaceable right now because its capabillities are soo good that in fact, it is priceless in the war against terror.

The A-10C and SU-39 are in a league off their own.

Iff the A-10 is replaced by the F-35 then something off massive worth has been lost forever for the USAF.