Originally Posted by
F15Cricket
As to your first comment that the Hawg is the most effective aircraft for wars we will fight, all I can say is history has generally shown that those who expect the next war to be like the last are normally wrong. In addition, CAS is a mission, not an aircraft, so I think there are other platforms that can do the job well.
You are 100% correct on the next war scenario. But keep in mind the USAF is planning to fight in the Pacific yet we find our self back in Iraq. And from the Intel I have gotten, this isn't going away anytime soon.
Unfortunately many pointy nose guys think CAS is just about dropping a GBU38/12 on a grid passed by a JTAC. That is like me saying ACM is just shooting AIM-120s at radar blips. If the A-10 wasn't needed, you wouldn't see the outcry of support that has tried to keep it in service.