why wont the U.S. airforce develop a new jet to replace the A-10?

Question

I understand the A-10 is getting kind of old. It has over 20 years of service.

sorry, but the f-22 replaces the f-15. and the jsf was not meant to replace the warthog either.

Answer 1

The plane serves it role perfetly. It has been modified in the past and will be again in the future.

A lot in the Air Force don't like it because its not multi-role and back in the 1990's they taked about scrapping it and just using the F16 in that role. The Army told the Air Force, if you do that, then we will bring back Army Fixed Wing and keep the A10 because they didnt want that nightmare of coordination.

Basically it came down to the Air Force wanted a multi role plane that did several things decently, where the Army wanted a specialized plane that was excelent at what it did.

Nothing so far has come along that does its job better then the A10 as proven in Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.

Answer 2

They have already produced two that are meant to replace the A-10; F-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter. Problem is the A-10 still does a bang up job and the JSF and F-22 is not in force numbers.

Answer 3

The A-10 is mostly going to be a national guard fighter and like most things in the military, it's very political. In general it has been replaced by drone aircraft. There are already drone aircraft that can be launched from anywhere, including the U.S., fly to a target anywhere in the world, fire some hellfire missiles, spot for the the artillary and other aircraft and then fly back without the possibility of losing a pilot and an expensive fighter jet like the F-22.

Answer 4

Because the Warthog is one of those aircraft that is so well built and so thorough at its job (close air support of ground forces); that is hard to find a replacement for it. Plus, the A-10 is built to take punishment that more high tech planes like the F-16 would not survive; plus the plane was built around its main armament, the GAU-8/A Avenger cannon. Try slapping the gun on another plane and it would just rattle itself apart.

The A-10 was been on the chopping block since the late 80s, but because we have not found a capable replacement, it will remain in service for the forseeable future.

(kind of like the B-52)

Answer 5

It's slow. It's ugly. It doesn't have a place in future combat operations. It's job is better done by helicopters. They're valid arguments.. or at least they seemed so.

Then they find out they need the thing again. They're not building new ones, but they are upgrading the existing planes with the plan to keep them in service until 2028.

And it's been flying for over 30 years, and in design for more than that. But 30 years isn't really that old for military equipment.

Answer 6

The A-10 is one of the best aircraft ever built. It is slow, heavily armored, can fly on one engine, a half a tail, and the engine can swallow a ton of junk, spit it out and keep running. Not to forget the incredible amount of ordnance and the volcan cannon. It is a tankers night mare and a troops savior. I wish the Marines had some.

Answer 7

JSF or F-35 will replace it but i think after 2025

Answer 8

Old age doesn't necessarily mean a design needs to be replaced.

The M16 family and it's variants have been in use since 1964.

The B-52 first flew in 1952 and is still active.

The M2 Browning Machine Gun has been in service since 1931.

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The A-10 is surprisingly rugged, still capable of knocking out tanks with ease, doesn't need to fly fast (in fact, fast speeds are detrimental to ground support aircraft) and is very cheap to purchase and maintain.

Answer 9

The F22 and the Navy's FA-18 are filling the roles nicely. The A10 is a Reserves aircraft now. We still use the hogwart and it still does the job. The F15 is older, and the B52 is the oldest warbird still used in active service.

Answer 10

Nothing better as of yet for fast close air support..nothin like seeing the warthogs tear up a target. If it aint broke why fix it.