Tag: Airplane

A-10 Vs F-35–Remix

My Closing Thought–05Mar18

I have given my opinion on the idea that the A-10 needs replacing for the US military….but instead of writing more than I have to here is a post that I did that explains my thinking…..with other links within……

https://lobotero.com/2016/08/26/finally-the-a-10-is-essential/

If you read the post then you know that I think that the ‘Hog cannot be replaced as for close combat support…..and now it looks like there will be an answer to the question of which is best coming this April……

Before moving into operational testing, the joint strike fighter will have to prove its mettle as a close-air support plane to the Pentagon’s independent testers, the F-35 program head said Wednesday.

This April, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation will scrutinize the F-35’s close-air support and reconnaissance capabilities during a series of flights at Edwards Air Force Base and the Point Mugu Sea Range in California, said Vice Adm. Mat Winter, who leads the F-35 Joint Program Office.

Winter said he isn’t sure whether the close-air support assessment in April — the second increment of tests ahead of this September’s initial operational test and evaluation, or IOT&E — would include the much-hyped F-35 versus A-10 flyoff. But it’s coming soon.

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/02/28/the-f-35-may-be-heading-into-its-faceoff-with-the-a-10-this-april/

I will be following this and reporting back as soon as possible…..I feel if the tests are up and up then I know which will win the “fly off”…..

My Monday is done….time for a beer and a burrito….see you guys tomorrow and we can pick up where we leave off today……chuq

Closing Thought–26Jan18

Ever notice there are always lists for everything?

And a new list of countries to be careful of has been issued……

US authorities issued an emergency order Monday requiring additional screening of cargo on flights departing for the United States from five Mideast countries, citing a threat of terrorism. The Transportation Security Administration order is aimed at preventing terrorist attacks in response to “persistent threats to aviation,” TSA said in a statement. The countries falling under this order are Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The countries were chosen because of “demonstrated intent by terrorists groups to attack aviation from them,” the statement said. TSA said most of the requirements of the emergency order are already being carried out voluntarily by airlines in some countries, but it didn’t identify the countries.

Airlines that TSA said are affected by the order are EgyptAir, Royal Jordanian, Saudia, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad, although EgyptAir no longer accepts cargo shipments on flights to the US at the request of American authorities, notes the AP. Under the requirements of the order, airlines are supposed to provide certain information on the shipments “at the earliest practical point” before loading the cargo to US customs officials. The shipment information is then compared to information the US has on terror threats.

What I find the most interesting is that most of the countries are allies……go figure!

Closing Thought–24Nov17

The Pentagon in its normal stupidity has decided that a jet fighter, the F-35, would be a better fit for our troops in close combat situations….to that I say BULLSH*T!  There is NOT a better plane for close combat support than the A-10.

The F-35 is NO better than the F-105 from the the Vietnam era….it was nicknamed the “THUD” for that was the sound it made when it hit the ground……

The A-10 the best friend a grunt can have in the air…..and here is why……

The A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin turbofan-powered aircraft designed specifically for close air support and ground attack missions against armored vehicles.

The aircraft’s sub-sonic speed and large straight-wing design allows for extreme maneuverability at low altitudes and extended time on target or to loiter above the battlefield.

The airframe was designed from the very start as a short takeoff and landing aerial platform for the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon, which can fire 3,900 depleted uranium shells per minute. When combined with the ability to carry the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missile and laser-guided bombs, the A-10 can destroy enemy armor at close range or from a standoff position.

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2017/11/15/all_you_wanted_to_know_about_the_a-10_thunderbolt_ii_112640.html

If they can keep a dinosaur like the B-52 flying then the A-10 deserves its chance also.

I have been writing about the A-10 and its virtues since the Air Force talking about retiring it in favor of a flying brick, the F-35……and I shall continue to do so…..

Our troops deserve the best in close air support and it gets NO better than the A-10.  PERIOD!

Again I apologize for the extra reading but I have so many drafts that need to see the light of day….I appreciate your patience…..

That is it for me for today…..I am off to start my weekend….I hope everyone has a good evening and a good weekend….be well….be safe…..chuq

Air Crash–Just What The Media Needed

Over the night we have had another air crash and the victims are the 66 most important people of the day….

A flight from Paris to Cairo carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew disappeared from radar early Thursday morning, the airline says. EgyptAir Flight 804 was lost from radar at 2:45am local time when it was flying at 37,000 feet, the airline says. It says the Airbus A320 had vanished 10 miles after it entered Egyptian airspace. Egyptian armed forces are searching for the plane, which was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew. EgyptAir later confirmed the nationalities of those on board as including 15 French passengers, 30 Egyptians, one Briton, two Iraqis, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian, and one Canadian, the AP reports.

A tragedy indeed but why am I so sarcastic about the reporting?

This is a story that the media desperately needed…..for a couple of days they have harped on the mini-riot at the Nevada delegate selection meeting…..where the Bernie supporters were angered and began protesting….and the story was reported by a reputable journalist that even chairs were thrown…..death threats to other DNC officials……well yesterday the story was developing that it was all a false report and all the news channels had run with the lie…….embarrassing, right?

Jon Ralston, the dean of political reporting in Nevada, has spread nothing less than a pack of lies about what went down at the state’s Democratic convention on Saturday. And the fact averse oligarchic national media has run completely riot with the provable falsehoods. No chairs were thrown at the convention Saturday. No death threats were made against the chair of the convention Roberta Lange. And Bernie Sanders delegates were not simply mad because their louder shouting was ignored.

Source: The Faux Fracas in Nevada: How a Reporter Manufactured a Riot

Now the MSM has a disaster that they can fixate on and speculate their butts off and never have to admit that they reported a lie…..the American people will be so enthralled with the hunt for this plane and the only thing they will remember about this mini-riot is the lies spread by the media.

Since there were NO Americans on the flight and it has nothing to do with the US there is NO need for days of endless speculation….the only reason is to divert the news from the lies that they have reported.

It is not about the plane but rather about saving face.

Score One For The ‘Hog

This post may not mean much to most readers and then if they are a combat vet then they are well aware of what the Wart Hog is and what it does.

Here it is….the infantryman’s best friend!

 

The Wart Hog is the A-10…… close air support airplane…..its nickname is the Wart Hog because it is so damn ugly…..but if you are in dire straits in combat you want to know the A-10 has your back……it may be ugly but the plane can kick some ass and do it non-stop…..

Recently the M-IC has decided that the A-10 needs to be replaced by a multi-billion dollar fiasco….the F-35.

This piece of unwanted expensive crap cannot perform for the ground troop any better than the A-10….the “Hog was designed to assist the ground troops in close support….the F-35 is supersonic fighter that cannot be as effective as the A-10.

I tell you what…..in combat and you have 2 radios one tuned to an A-10 the other to a F-35…..bet the “Hog gets the call every time….

Okay enough whining….the reason I am writing this is the some 2 star general just lost his job over the F-35……..

.The two-star general who told officers they would be “committing treason” by advocating to Congress that the A-10 should be kept in service has been fired and reprimanded, Air Combat Command announced on Friday.

The military blog John Q Public first reported in January that Maj. Gen. James Post made the comments at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, prompting the Air Force Inspector General’s Office to look into the matter.

As a result, Gen. Hawk Carlisle, head of Air Combat Command, has removed Post as vice commander of Air Combat Command and issued Post a letter of reprimand, the news release says.

Post’s “treason” comment outraged some in Congress, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who called on Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James to investigate the matter.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., has been the foremost opponent to the Air Force’s plans to retire the A-10. In January, Ayotte told Air Force Times she was “deeply disturbed” by what Post said.

“How could members of the armed forces exercising their lawful right to communicate with Congress be providing aid and comfort to our enemies?” Ayotte said in a statement at the time. “If the facts are on the Air Force’s side regarding its efforts to prematurely divest the A-10, what does the Air Force fear?”

Good bye dickhead!  I am sure that the defense contractor will gladly pay you handsomely for your efforts…….

The Grunt deserves to be heard…..and the grunt deserves the A-10 on his 6…….