OT: Putin's War in Ukraine

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I think that if someone can come with something better than the Warthog, they should put up or shut up. The A-10 is like the B-52 -- there's nothing that can fill it's shoes.

They need to warm up production lines for the A-10C.

I wonder If that will happen but for a singularly different reason. The Army is trying hard to abolish or circumvent the Key West Agreement and really does want the A10. There are something like 160 operational airframes and the Army would need them all to fill in the gaps in CAS that they have with the Apache.

All that being said, the A10 would be a good idea for three reasons...

It can operate from "austere airfields."

Its cost of operation per flight hour is the lowest you can get in a combat jet.

Its tech is very Cold War meaning you do NOT NEED lots of high-tech gear to maintain or fight with the jet.

Sadly though, it won't solve Ukraine's most pressing need... CAP (Combat Air Patrol)... Ukraine needs something to stop high-altitude bombers and standoff attacks from Russian jets.

I STILL believe that the easiest route to take is to have all our former Pact members give up their older Mig 29s, SU22s, and even their Mig 21s and then replace THOSE NATO aircraft with F16s.

[swaghauler]

Perun has done an analysis of the use of helicopters in Ukraine.

https://youtu.be/qnoKpXvj41A



Swag

[pmulcahy11b]

Here's an interesting counterpoint to the A-10s for Ukraine idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEQwlNeL0s

[Raellus]

Those are fair points, and if the Ukrainians don't want A-10s, we shouldn't try to foist our unwanted Warthogs on them. I'm kind of surprised that the Ukrainians aren't interested, though, given that they're using SU-25s on a regular basis, but I get that the supply of trained, experienced pilots is limited, and that the greater need is for fighter aircraft.

-

[bash]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Those are fair points, and if the Ukrainians don't want A-10s, we shouldn't try to foist our unwanted Warthogs on them. I'm kind of surprised that the Ukrainians aren't interested, though, given that they're using SU-25s on a regular basis, but I get that the supply of trained, experienced pilots is limited, and that the greater need is for fighter aircraft.

-

I am not some sort of A-10 hater or anything but I find the mythology around it a little tedious. It's got a relatively short combat radius, little air-to-air capability, and is fairly slow. In an environment without air superiority and little in the way of SEAD from friendly forces it would be a sitting duck.

For the Ukrainians in particular it would be nearly useless. It can't mount any weapons they might have in stock. The moment it supplied ammo is spent the jets are just taking up a hangar. The A-10 also has no sensors besides what comes in attached pods. Unless the US is going to also send those then the A-10 is a gun and dumb bombs aimed with iron sights. Ukraine would be much better off getting resources to keep their SU-25s operational.

The A-10 as part of US forces can be formidable because other weapon systems exist to let it do its job. It would be far less effective in other militaries that don't have as deep of a weapon systems bench as the US does.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by bash

For the Ukrainians in particular it would be nearly useless. It can't mount any weapons they might have in stock.

This is probably true of the Ukrainian supply chain in general. Ukrainian logistics officers must be having nightmares about supplying their troops -- particularly spare parts. Western aircraft would turn that into fever nightmares.