Kris Osborn
The A-10 warthog has earned a permanent place in history.
The aircraft is revered as a lifesaving “flying tank” able to support soldiers in a close-in ground fight under enemy fire. Despite the emotional allegiance the aircraft inspires, it might at last be flying into the sunset.
In what could be seen as a defining moment for the A-10, U.S. Air Force leaders recently announced they will be closing out or stopping A-10 operations at two key bases and replacing the A-10’s missions in one location with F-35s.
For many years, the Air Force has wanted to fully retire the A-10 and let the F-35 perform critical Close Air Support (CAS) missions. Pentagon weapons developers, Army and Air Force service members, ground troops, and many prominent members of Congress have fought to make sure the A-10 keeps on flying.
But despite the A-10’s success and combat record, some senior Air Force weapons developers have long believed the F-35 is better suited for CAS. The interest in the F-35’s ability to perform these missions, and the strength of the Congressional, Air Force, and Army support for the aircraft, led the Pentagon to conduct a fly-off between the two aircraft.
A-10 vs. F-35 Fly-Off
Despite their differences, the A-10 and F-35 can both perform CAS missions in distinctive and impactful ways. Ground troops who have benefited from protective fire coming from the A-10’s cannon while it hovers low over the ground are likely to insist the A-10 is superior.
So why might the F-35 be better? Certainly MANPADs, Stingers, and other shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons have gotten much more advanced. An A-10s titanium hull and built-in redundancy might now be much more vulnerable to destruction by enemy ground fire than they once were. The Warthog is engineered for redundancy — if one critical element such as an engine or electrical system is damaged or destroyed by enemy fire, the A-10 can keep flying. This attribute, while still critical, may not be as impactful in a modern threat environment where enemies have new generations of targeting technology and ground-fired munitions, as well as longer-range precision targeting.
The F-35 brings a series of key attributes not woven into the A-10’s mission scope. It brings a new generation of speed, thrust, and maneuverability capabilities. The aircraft could quickly enter and exit high-threat areas while maneuvering into position to support ground troops with suppressive or lethal fire at the enemy.
This could greatly help ground troops in close proximity to an enemy force, as the F-35 could fire its 25mm cannon or launch longer-range, precision-guided rockets and missiles. The F-35 has a full complement of air-ground weaponry which, under the coordination of the F-35’s computing and sensing technologies, could generate devastating effects.
Information about an F-35’s ability to withstand or absorb enemy ground fire is probably not available, but the Joint Strike Fighter does operate with several distinctive attributes of great relevance to the CAS mission. While we might not yet know how well an F-35 can absorb, withstand, or counter enemy small arms fire, we do know that the F-35’s sensors, computing, weapons, and targeting technology are such that the aircraft could likely inflict a heavy toll on enemy ground forces from safe standoff distances, beyond the reach of any enemy ground fire.
Why is A-10 Retiring?
The A-10 Warthog has been revered, cherished, and celebrated for generations by grateful ground forces who credit the famous “flying tank” for saving them from enemy fire. Although the combat-tested aircraft has been the subject of decades of debate regarding what exactly its future should be, there is little question about its combat performance.
The Warthog is known for being able to fly low and slow in almost a “hover-like” status in order to maneuver in support of ground forces facing enemy fire. Its lethality is greatly enhanced by a 30mm cannon directly aligned beneath the nose of aircraft and able to attack straight on from the very front of the aircraft.
The cannon is effective for several reasons, in large measure because of the survivability of the aircraft. With a strongly reinforced titanium hull, the A-10 is built to absorb small arms fire and sustain operational effectiveness. Its effectiveness against enemy fire is also greatly helped by a built-in redundancy, with duplicate systems such as electronics, engines, or weapons to ensure the plane can keep flying in the event that certain vital systems are destroyed by enemy fire.
An A-10 pilot described this in great detail in a discussion with me, explaining that the A-10 can still fly and even attack in the event that its digital displays and targeting systems are destroyed by enemy attacks.
“So when I lose all the computers and the calculations, the targeting pod and the heads up display, you can still point the aircraft using a degraded system at the target and shoot. We are actually trained for that,” former A-10 pilot Lt. Col. Ryan Haden, 23rd Fighter Group Deputy, Moody AFB, told Warrior Maven in a previous interview several years ago
However, redundancy and survivability matters to the extent that the aircraft can maintain its operational lethality, something which Haden explained centers around its 30mm cannon.
“The 30mm cannon has 7 barrels. They are centered the way the aircraft fires. The firing barrel goes right down the center line. You can point the aircraft and shoot at the ground. It is designed for air-to-ground attack,” Haden explained.
Armed with 1,150 rounds, the 30mm cannon is able to fire 70-rounds a second.
The A-10 carries a full complement of weapons, including GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions. Its arsenal includes GBU 38s, GBU 31s, GBU 54s, Mk 82s, Mk 84s, AGM-65s, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and rockets along with illumination flares, jammer pods, and other protective countermeasures.
The aircraft can carry 16,000 pounds of mixed ordnance—eight can fly under the wings and three under the fuselage. When it comes to targeting, navigation, and precision, enhancements in mission computing could prove crucial to upgrading combat performance for the A-10 by enabling new weapons systems for the platform.
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in /lComparative Literature from Columbia University.
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