The A-10 in T2k - still the most flying?

[Olefin]

As to ammo - more than 100,000,000 rounds were made for the GAU-8/A in our timeline - give the Cold War not coming to an end and the war itself - and the fact that the Dutch and other navies used the gun as an AA gun - there are most likely a lot of rounds still in storage

and while the AP round needs depleted uranium the HE round - the PGU-13/B doesnt need it - its the same round if I remember right that the Apache uses

so ammo for the gun wont be a problem for any surviving A-10's - in fact that is probably why they will still be effective support aircraft - I doubt by 2000 the US military has many surviving Mavericks or other guided munitions left - but the A-10 pilot just needs his eyes

and his slower approach speed means all he needs is his eyes to get on target

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Unfortunately the AH-64 and the A-10 cannons don't use the same round.
The 30mm ammo for the AH-64 is 30x113mm
The 30mm ammo for the A-10 is 30x173mm
Even the projectiles are different so that ruins any idea of salvaging one to make the other

[DigTw0Grav3s]

Did anybody read Red Storm Rising? There was a bit about the A-10's brutal effect on Soviet armor, but it also points out that the Warthogs were flying into some of the most dense IADS in the world. Even with excellent crews, A-10 drivers would probably lose the numbers game.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Originally Posted by DigTw0Grav3s

Did anybody read Red Storm Rising? There was a bit about the A-10's brutal effect on Soviet armor, but it also points out that the Warthogs were flying into some of the most dense IADS in the world. Even with excellent crews, A-10 drivers would probably lose the numbers game.

Yeah - basically when a flight of two popped up every trooper around the general officer the book was focusing on screamed "Devil's crosses!" and went into panic mode.

IIRC in Coyle's Bright Star (or maybe it was Sword Point) a young Soviet officer witnesses an A10 flight's attack on his truck convoy at dusk, and watches his vehicles and men burst into flames every time the "bright red beam" from the A10's nose (they were firing tracer rounds) hit; his assumption was that they were armed with energy weapons since nothing else could do that.

[WallShadow]

I don't know which unit it belonged to, or where it was from, but at least one A-10 flew west over the flea market south of Harrisburg where I was on Saturday morning. It might have been out of Ft. Indiantown Gap.

[Olefin]

saw that same plane in my area as well down near York - forgot you were in my area WallShadow! Great to have someone in the same general area.

[kato13]

https://www.military.com/daily-news/...-downsize.html

[Adm.Lee]

https://taskandpurpose.com/culture/a...war-two-idaho/

Another A-10 in P-47 colors

[mpipes]

The A-10 outliving the F-22 is very ironic, since one of the rationales offered for retiring the A-10 about 20 years ago was to free up funds and personnel to go to the F-22 fleet.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Adm.Lee

Another A-10 in P-47 colors

Such a sexy scheme.

Here's some more Warthog stuff for y'all:

A different D-Day paint job:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...-mind-boggling

A Vietnam era A-10 paint job:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...tan-camouflage

And why you don't want to dogfight with a Warthog:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...-in-a-dogfight

Recent upgrades to keep the A-10:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...-over-a-decade

And lastly, if you're thinking about gen'ing up a female A-10 pilot PC:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...n-a-10-warthog

(Includes a ton of pics)

I live north of Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, so I get to see [all-grey] A-10s nearly every day, but I haven't caught any of these custom paint jobs yet.

-

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Olefin

As to ammo - more than 100,000,000 rounds were made for the GAU-8/A in our timeline

I had trouble accepting that number until i found this.

http://www.atk.com/wp-content/upload...173mmAmmo1.pdf

ATK’s family of 30mm x 173mm ammunition builds on our production experience of over 100 million rounds of 30mm GAU-8 ammunition.

I am pretty well informed on things military, but every once and a while the size of military logistics staggers my mind.

Edit.

I guess that only comes out to about 100 full loads per airframe. Not unreasonable when you consider the longevity of the airframe and the amount of training the US does.