Why doesn't the USMC fly a version of the A-10 Warthog?

Answer 1

They fly the Harrier for air support


Please do not say the Flying Gun's days are numbered.

Answer 2

The A-10 would not be good on a carrier. The large wings would be lifted by the updraft on the carriers stern and make getting a arrester wire absolute hell. The A-10 would also need to be extensively rebuilt to handle carrier landings a very expensive and time consuming process. The next problem would be that the A-10 needs a runway of some length to fly. The Harrier doesn't and the harrier can operate from the smaller helo carriers the A-10 couldn't do that. The need for carrier capability is that the marines belong to the navy and the marines use only navy approved equipment. The navy also doesn't want to clutter it's big carrier decks with A-10's instead of F-18's. This why the harrier was accepted as it operates from the helo carriers thus freeing up the big carriers to carry fighters and other support aircraft.

Answer 3

Simply put, the Marines do not fly the A-10 because it does not meet the mission requirements of the Marine Corps. It is a great attack aircraft but it does not have the capability to take off from a sea based platform such as a carrier or an amphibious assault ship. The F/A-18, the AV-8B, and the AH-1 sufficiently meet the mission requirements of Marine Aviation.


In response to several answers provided by others, Marine Corps aviation does not have the same mission as the Air Force. The purpose of Marine Corps aviation is to support the Marine philosophy of combined arms. The Marine Corps employs combined arms to overwhelm and exploit an enemy's weakness. Marine aviation is a vital part of the combined arms philosophy. The Air Force is awesome at what it does, but Marine aviation is unmatched in providing close air support to the fighting Marine on the deck.
Wolfman and Brian L., I would just like to clarify, the Marine Corps is not part of the Navy. The Marine Corps is organized under the Department of the Navy but this does not mean that the Marine Corps is part of the Navy. The Department of the Navy, unlike the Department of the Air Force and the Department of the Army, is responsible for two separate service branches (Navy and Marine Corps).

Answer 4

Because if Marines could fly every aircraft then we would have no use for the Marine Corps or the Air Force. The Marines also have a nasty little habit of breaking everything. That's why the Navy supplies the Marines with aircraft, also because the Marines are still under the department of the Navy.

The A-10 is an Air Force plane, we know how to fly it and we know how to fix it. Just leave it at that.

CARL Z,
Actually the Air Force has several planes that are multi-role aircraft. Using the F-18s and the AV-8s actually severely limits what the Marines can do because they can only handle certain types of jobs. There are certain munitions that cannot be loaded on the AV-8 because of it's vertical thrust. The F-18 can handle more load but is still limited mainly because of the configurations the Navy had to make on them before putting them into service. A-10s are by far the best anti-armor aircraft in service, it is the only aircraft that can take so much damage that any other aircraft would have been shot down, and still land back at base. It also uses a 30mm cannon, nothing is going to stop that. It has just recently gone through a massive upgrade to improve the weapons guidance systems so that it could carry a wider variety of munitions.

Answer 5

The A-10 was designed in the '70's to do one job. Kill Warsaw Pact tanks that out numbered our Nato forces in Europe. MOst USMC ops ab in far away places without friendly air power. Thats why They invented Marine Air in the first place. Air power they can bring with them or be close by. The AF does not fit that bill. Afganistan is a prime example. The USAF had no bases close by. Thus the Navy And long range birds from Diego Garcia had to do the work.
For tank killing, Marines use the Ah-1w Super Cobras and to a lesser degree the AV-8b's. While I have always thought they fit better in to the Marines inventory than the AF, the days of the A-10 are numbered.

Answer 6

The U.S. military is kind of weird. There is something there is something like 14 different air forces and three different navies (standard, Coast Guard and since the U.S. Army bought some PT boats and probably have swift boats they have a navy too) and even sailors might be turned into infantry men.

Then there is costs, congressional imput (for instance they have bought systems nobody wanted) and what the commanders want.

In short, it's because neither the marines or congress want the marines to use the A-10.

Answer 7

The A-10 was not designed for carrier duty. Virtually all marine aircraft must be carrier compatible as they often rotate with navy squadrons. Some things that carrier based aircraft must have are rugged landing gear, multi mission capability, folding wings, etc. Modifying the A-10 for carrier duty would be cost prohibitive, especially at this stage of its service life.

Answer 8

The F/A-18 can launch from aircraft carriers, and the Harrier can launch from amphibious assault ships. The A-10 could probably be modified to fly from carriers, but it would take up space and not be useful as a fighter.

Answer 9

A-1o Warthog

Answer 10

Instead they use multi-role aircraft such as the F/A-18 and the AV8-Harrier Jump Jet.

Both are very capable of dealing with armour units when equipped properly.

The marines do this because of the differing roles they play in numerous scenarios of warfare. Where the USAF can use role specific aircraft, the marines must use multi-role models.

Hope this helps.