"The A-10 and the F-35 Will Finally Face Off" Topic

"Think of it as the high-stakes, high-flying dogfight that everyone from military pilots to members of Congress has been waiting for.

The venerable A-10 Thunderbolt II jet will take on the high-tech F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in "comparison testing" later this year to determine which platform can best support U.S. ground forces, a top U.S. Defense Department told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

"To me, comparison testing just makes common sense," Michael Gilmore, the director of the Pentagon's operational test and evaluation office, said during a Capitol Hill hearing. "If you're spending a lot of money to get improved capability, that's the easiest way to demonstrate it is to do a rigorous comparison test."

The U.S. Air Force has waged a years-long campaign to scrap its 1970s-era A-10 fleet in a bid to save roughly $4 USD billion in operating costs. Service leaders contend the A-10's close air support functions can be performed by other planes, including the F-35…"
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Apples and oranges?

Amicalement
Armand

Completely different platforms….it's like trying to run the indy 500 between a Shelby Cobra and VW Bug…

More like a sports car and a pickup truck.

They both serve different purposes.

One might be good for zipping through traffic, but bet you'd wish you had a pickup if you ever needed to haul sacks of cement for that backyard patio project.

The test is set to showcase the F35. Would really like to see the mission profiles

I'm wondering if they will make the A-10 fly with one wing tied behind its back.

What's to face off?

The F-35's gun software won't be ready until 2022 at the earliest, assuming it gets completed on time, so unless you want a jet that can conduct Soviet-style Taran attacks, the A-10 wins before it even lifts off the runway.

The A-10's probably be more survivable in that style of attack as well.

Apples and oranges

Lets see 1 F-35 will buy 10 A-10s. So will 10 A-10s take on 1 F-35 :>

Let's just have the Air force Generals load whatever aircraft they think can supplant the a-10 with 8,000 Lbs or ordnance, fly out 150 miles, loiter for three hours, drop the ordnance (accurately) in a high AA environment and fly back to base to land… F-16's, F-35… whatever makes them happy … but they have to fly it.

Remind me, how does the F-35 do with half a wing, engine or tail plane shot off?

Hell, just put both side by side, with two different AF generals in the cockpits, and fire a 23mm quad at them from 1 km. range.

That should settle it.

If you think that's too brutal, ask them to choose which they want to man before the "exercise" takes place.

My guess is the vote will be unanimous, so no need for a destructive live firing exercise.

Remind me, how does the F-35 do with half a wing, engine or tail plane shot off?

Better than the A-10 does after it's been locked onto by legacy radars that can't reliably target an F-35 and blown to pieces.

Yea, those "legacy radars" are gonna detect the F-35 too, since it'll be all dirtied up with bombs, missiles, and drop tanks, in most cases, excepting perhaps for initial strike waves.

Know what happened with the Heinkel 177? It was a good decent bomber until they tried to make it a dive bomber too.

The F35 is still an untested airframe and already they are expecting it to replace nearly everything that has ever flown. Eggs in a basket anyone?

My advice is to upgrade the A10 or even build a newer, even better version of it.

Gets back to the sports car pickup truck. Air Farce only wants to drive sports cars and not let anyone else drive the pickup

Remind me, how does the F-35 do with half a wing, engine or tail plane shot off?

Pretty safe to say it is yet to fly reliably even while intact – so there is that

Yea, a 16.7% operational takeoff test result doesn't really inspire much confidence.

I'd rather have 10 Predators. Drones are the real solution.

Near unanimous call of BS here I see.
I'll be more interested in seeing fly off between Su-30/35 and these planes + F22.

I think the F-35 will win in the air superiority stakes and the A-10 will win in the not getting shot down at low level stakes.

So this not getting shot down you speak of.
You think that's important?

:)

Cost also ought to be.
And of course maintenance – how often you need to fettle the things and how long that takes.

we need to ask retired A10 pilots who are out of the military and no connections to defence contractors for their views, if we should still keep the A10 active or not

Will the F-35s be able to take off?

I'd rather have 10 Predators.

Which cost as much as 10x A10s and all 10 together carry as much as a single A10.

Drones are the real solution.

Not in heavy CAS. At least not yet. Limited CAS, where you're more concerned about loiter time than ordnance on target, sure. Plus, no drone can pack the gun, which will still open up even an Abrams or T14 like a beer can.

An A-10 gets shot down, the pilot's wife cries. A F-35 gets shot down, the whole of the Government Accountability Office cries.

Oh, and the F35s have been flying head to head here in Boise for a while. There's a T&E squadron of F35As at Montain Home AFB, and any USAF pilot who wanders over to Boise gets to play with the local Air Guard A10 jockeys.

The A10s usually win the dogfights.