The conference version of the $874.2 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill released last Wednesday would allow the Air Force to retire older aircraft, including 42 A-10C Warthogs. Removing 42 A-10 from the Air Force’s rosters — which would be the first big step toward getting rid all the A-10s — is a terrible mistake that will result the needless loss of countless U.S. soldiers who will no longer be able to rely on the kind of close air support that only the A-10 can deliver.
This mistake is compounded by the plan to replace the A-10 with the F-35, which is the very antithesis of a close air support plane.
The Air Force conducted two fly-offs between the A-10 and the F-35 to assess how well they did against each other in the performance of close air support (CAS). In the first test, Air Force personnel familiar with the results reported that A-10 utterly dominated the F-35. And even in the second flyoff, which the Air Force designed to favor the F-35 even more than the first test, the A-10 won.
Further, an analysis conducted by Cambridge University confirms A-10 superiority when it comes to CAS, noting that “a survey of joint terminal attack controllers indicates that the A-10 vastly outperforms the F-35 in providing close-air support.”
But even saying that the A-10 vastly outperforms the F-35 in performing close-air support is overrating the F-35’s capabilities. That platform’s fragility, inaccurate gun and low-speed clumsiness mean that the Air Force will never actually task the F-35 to conduct genuine close air support.
Regarding the oft-stated claim that the A-10 was great in its day, but cannot survive on the future battlefield against near-peer or peer competitors – a couple of points:
Air Force spokespeople have been making this assertion for decades. Yet all of our shooting wars over the last 40 years have been against non-peer competitors that we completely dominated in terms of airpower. And against these opponents the A-10 racked up more missions and kills per plane than any other aircraft in the Navy, Marines or Air Force. The A-10’s unmatched record includes two A-10s killing 23 tanks in one day. And while other planes have tried to do close air support, whenever real CAS is required, especially in danger-close scenarios, the A-10 is the plane our soldiers always request and the one our enemies fear most.
Regarding going up against peer, or near-peer competitors with sophisticated air defense systems, it must be understood that air defense systems are extremely expensive, and the most powerful of them operate far away from the frontlines in order to avoid being targeted by enemy artillery and missiles. This works to the A-10’s advantage, as it excels at flying low-altitude missions that stay out of threat envelope of such powerful air defense systems as the S-300, S-400, and others systems designed to deal with fast high fliers, including stealth aircraft like the F-35.
When it comes to surviving against short- and medium-range air defense systems, including MANPADS, the A-10 pilot coordinates with its ground air controller to execute missions that minimize its exposure. A-10s also have sophisticated air defense countermeasures. So, with proper planning and support the A-10 can operate on the modern battlefield. But, as is the case with the men and equipment it helps protect via genuine CAS, it will not be invulnerable.
Finally, the A-10 can carry a massive payload of standoff weapons such as the F-35 carries, including 16 GBU-39 small diameter bombs. This means that along with providing genuine close air support, the A-10 can provide the kind of “close air support” the F-35 will provide many miles away from the frontlines. And the A-10’s vastly superior reliability and ability to operate from austere airfields results in a plane that can easily fly two to three times more sorties per day than the F-35.
All of this, plus the cost per flying hour of the A-10 being less than one-half that of the F-35, means that the A-10 provides many times more bang for the buck than the F-35. The A-10’s only real downside is that it is bought and paid for and is not scheduled to put tens of billions of additional dollars into the pockets of defense contractors and their senior management (which, since the 1980s, has been increasingly dominated by retired military and Department of Defense personnel).
Bottom line, those who say that the recently upgraded and modernized A-10C is outdated are engaging in evidence-free speculative exercises, as the A-10C is by far and away the most capable CAS plane in the world and has been highly successful in every single war zone to which it has been deployed to date. Hence, given its real-world record, retiring A-10s is a terrible idea that will result in more Gold Star families due to the lack of effective, genuine close air support.
The NDAA needs to go back to conference for changes that keep all the A-10s flying and doing what they do best – saving American lives.
Mike Fredenburg writes about politics and defense matters, with an emphasis on defense reform. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Production Operations Management and has written for the Epoch Times, National Review, the San Diego Daily Transcript, the San Diego Union-Tribute and other outlets.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.