22 Aug 2007
Air Force declares newest configuration of A-10 aircraft ready for combat
Defense Daily:
Air Force officials announced yesterday that the A-10C ground-attack aircraft, the significantly upgraded version of the venerable A-10A Thunderbolt II, is now ready for combat, with the first squadron of them expected to deploy to Iraq within the next 30 days…
With the combat-ready declaration, the first two squadrons to be fully equipped with the A-10C, both Air National Guard (ANG) units, are cleared to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact, the Maryland ANG’s 104th Fighter Squadron, which features 17 front-line A-10Cs, will deploy to Iraq in “less than 30 days,” Brig. Gen. Guy Walsh, commander of the Maryland ANG’s 175th Fighter Wing, which includes the 104th, told the audience here. The second unit is Michigan ANG’s 172nd Fighter Squadron, also with 17 primary aircraft authorized.
All 350+ A-10s will be upgraded to ‘C’ by 2011. Further upgrades, including wing replacements to increase service life and newer, more powerful engines, are being considered for the Warthog.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:14 pm
This is good news. Now the A-10 should be around for another 20 to 30 years and the pilots can put away their paper maps and focus on their mission:) Plus it befits the A-10 more than becoming a firefighter.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Hold on, if you read the article it says the A-10 will be replaced by the F-35 in a few years. You believe that, don’t you?
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I saw that, Dfens, and almost mentioned it. But it was too stupid, so I passed.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I thought it said replacement would be in 2028. I guess that is 21 years away. So that would put it on the low end of my long range estimate. I keep forgetting it’s 2007.
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Maybe im saying something very stupid…but wouldnt be the Hellfire missile quite good for a tank killer like the A-10? And with those long wings, it would be able to carry at least 24 (4×6) of them.
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I was just up at Hill AFB a couple of months ago and documented the upgrade to A-10C configuration. You can see the photos here: http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/C1311122445/E20070430115307/index.html
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:53 pm
I like the hellfire idea, I would like it even more if the A-10 had installed the longbow millimeter wave radar system.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:24 am
Anybody know of any easy external identifiers for the upgrade? I snagged a couple shots of two MD ANG A-10’s buzzing the dunes at Assateague a couple months ago, and was wondering if they might have been C’s. Can’t find the pics now, cause I’m sleepy. Thanks.
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:56 am
I know this will never happen. But what is the feasibility of restarting A-10 production? I read that Yakovlev started producing the Yak-9, a WW2 plane, in the 1990s. If they could do this, why couldn’t we.
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:43 am
There are a couple of hundred A-10’s in boneyards so restarting the line would not be needed. The issue with restarting the line is the airforce’s hard on for F-35’s and F-22’s. IMO the only way the line would ever be restarted is if the Marines decide to start flying them (while it has a certain logic the odds are roughly zero - it would only happen if the VSTOL version of the F-35 is tossed) or the Army somehow gains control of A-10’s (possible but unlikely)
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:46 am
‘I know this will never happen. But what is the feasibility of restarting A-10 production? I read that Yakovlev started producing the Yak-9, a WW2 plane, in the 1990s. If they could do this, why couldn’t we.’ Because spacey, restarting the A-10 production would interfere with the $900,000 washer procurement project!
August 24th, 2007 at 6:30 am
it would only happen if the VSTOL version of the F-35 is tossed) or the Army somehow gains control of A-10’s (possible but unlikely)‘ What does that mean? I live next door to an army base (Fort Polk) and see A-10s flying by weekly. Are you sure the army doesn’t fly A-10s already?
August 24th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Possibly joint training (particularly at Polk) but the USAF flies all the A-10s.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
I say navalize them and give them to the Marines. Its a tank with wings. They’ll love it. Not only that, but they have an affinity for CAS, especially for their brother Marines.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Make a VSTOL A-10 and give it to the Marines. Heck yeah!