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Originally Posted by Grimmy
CootaO:
My comment was in no way intended as smartassed.
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In that case I apologize.
I agree that not everyone should have all of the same capabilities, but i do think if one service is required to rely on another service for support and that service seems to fail to be looking toward that mission on the near future.
In my opinion I could see the Army looking to a fixed wing solution to CAS. I think the USAF is getting to a point much like the one in the 1950's that led to Attack Helicopters. In the 50's the USAF was more concerned about high-speed fighters and nuclear capable bombers, the Army couldn't get the CAS it required. Today the USAF is moving to more high-tech fighters that are not built for CAS but are supposed to replace the current CAS aircraft. With the F-35 and the F-16 you can't get the same type of low-level high loiter time that an A-10 or a propellor driven craft can provide, while the Apaches and Kiowas are great at CAS a fixed wing aircraft can carrier a heavier load and fly higher during the ingress and egress to the target area meaning that the SAMs, especially IR SAMs, that are dangerous to rotary wing aircraft can be avoided except for in the target area. The Army could use either a new type of low-level CAS aircraft are use the A-10B or another upgrade or possibly work with the USMC to develop a follow on for the AV-8 (the last reports on the F-35 didn't sound much like what the USMC wanted) A major negative to the A-10 is the need for larger fixed runways, a Helicopter can land anywhere, a jet engine is very relaible unless you pick up a rock in your intake (not a prblem really with the high mounting on the A-10) as well as a need for the new equipment and personel to keep the aircraft maintained. I believe rather than taking hand-me-downs from the USAF, a joint project with the Marines for a S/VTOL aircraft would better fit the Army's requirements as well as makeing the Army more autonmous from the USAF and other services for fixed-wing CAS, while making the Army more flexible in it's deployment ability.