La fine dei Warthog?

[richelieu]

La stessa notizia ..... come la da DefenseNews .....

"Report: A-10 retirement indefinitely delayed" .....
http://www.defensenews.com/story/milita ... /78747114/

AYOTTE for President 2016 .....

[giragyro]

sono rinsaviti ..........fino a quando non riproporranno l'F35....magari in versione wild wiesel

[richelieu]

25 anni fa ..... Desert Storm .....

Viene rievocata una missione di salvataggio nella quale gli A-10 ebbero una parte preponderante .....

A Rescue Deep in Enemy Territory .....

Jennifer Hlad (1/15/2016)

​Twenty-five years ago this Sunday, Capt. Paul Johnson of the 353rd Fighter Squadron, Myrtle Beach AB, S.C., was on search and rescue duty when he was tasked with finding a Navy F-14 crew that had been shot down deep in Iraq.
It was Jan. 21, 1991, the fifth day of Operation Desert Storm.
Johnson, now a major general and the director of operational capability requirements for the Air Force, said he and his wingman, Capt. Randy Goff, spent nine hours together in the air that day.
http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/D ... hnson.aspx
“The thing that strikes me about it is how many people came together”- many who had never met or spoken before - all “willing to do whatever it took to accomplish the mission,” he told Air Force Magazine.
Johnson, an A-10 pilot, said they spent a lot of time searching, were diverted to look for SCUD missiles, and then thought the rescue mission had fallen apart because he was not able to establish radio contact with the pilot.
He was low on fuel and conducting a final search when he finally got in touch with the pilot and “everything came together.”
Johnson was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions that day, including “three hours of intensive searching deeper inside enemy territory than any A-10 had ever been,” and flying at 500 feet to pinpoint the Navy pilot’s location.
“It was his superior airmanship and his masterful techniques at orchestration that made this rescue happen - the first in the history of the A-10 weapons system,” his award citation reads.
Read more about Johnson’s rescue mission in 'Hog Heaven' from the December 2010 issue of Air Force Magazine ..... http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArch ... 210hog.pdf

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

AYOTTE for President 2016 .....
.

[Vultur]

Ma è sempre lui del video di sopra, solo un po' più anziano.

[richelieu]

Ma è sempre lui del video di sopra, solo un po' più anziano.

Si ..... e, nel frattempo, ha fatto carriera .....
La storia del video è anche raccontata nell'ultima pagina del pdf che ho postato questa mattina .....
.

[richelieu]

Ancora sul rinvio del ritiro dello A-10 .....

Staying Power .....

After years of rejecting U.S. Air Force proposals to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II, Congress appears to have finally succeeded in keeping its beloved close-air support aircraft.
Air Force Secretary Deborah James indicated a delay to A-10 retirements was possible at an event in December.
“It’s doing a good job for us, so that’s perhaps a reason to keep it a bit longer,” James said.
The Air Force is not formally confirming it will fund A-10s in fiscal 2017, saying it is too soon to discuss details of the upcoming budget.
But news of the A-10 coming off the retirement list, first reported in Defense One, is receiving a warm reception on Capitol Hill.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says the aircraft is “playing an indispensable role” in the Middle East and in Eastern Europe.
“When the Obama administration submits its 2017 budget request in the coming weeks, I hope it will follow through on its plan to keep the A-10 flying so that it can continue to protect American troops.”

Fonte ..... un più ampio articolo di AW&ST .....
"Budget Politics | A-10 Reprieve? | United Fined" ..... http://aviationweek.com/defense/budget- ... ited-fined

AYOTTE for President 2016 .....
.

[richelieu]

La nuova mossa dell' ex colonnello McSally .....

Ahead of President Barack Obama’s budget rollout next week, an influential Air Force pilot-turned lawmaker called on the commander-in-chief and his defense secretary to request full funding for the legacy A-10 until plans for its replacement take shape.
“As you finalize the Department of Defense’s (DOD) budget request for fiscal year 2017, I ask that you fully fund the A-10 ‘Warthog’ in a manner consistent with Congressional intent,” Rep. March (in realtà Martha) McSally, R-Ariz., a retired Air Force colonel with 325 hours flying the A-10 in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote in a Jan. 28 letter to Obama and Defense Secretary Ash Carter.
“Because there is no replacement for these unique and crucial capabilities, either currently available or in development, we must maintain and improve the A-10 fleet until a real A-10 replacement exists.”

Fonte ..... "Lawmaker Calls on Obama to Fund A-10, Develop Replacement" .....
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /79480584/

La lettera ..... "U.S. Rep. McSally Calls on President Obama to Fully Fund A-10 in Budget" .....
https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/ ... -10-budget

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
.

[richelieu]

Previsioni di bilancio .....

Carter confirmed that the US air force will also postpone retirement of the Fairchild Republic A-10 Warthog.
“[It] has been devastating ISIL from the air,” he says, referencing the terrorist organisation the American military is fighting in Iraq and Syria.
“The budget defers the A-10’s final retirement until 2022, replacing it with F-35s on a squadron-by-squadron basis so we’ll always have enough aircraft for today’s conflicts.”

Fonte ..... "DOD reveals ‘arsenal plane’ and microdrones in budget speech" .....
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... ge-421516/

Anche su Jane's ..... "Pentagon budget 2017: USAF postpones retirement of 'devastating' A-10" .....
(327 of 614 words) ..... http://www.janes.com/article/57656/pent ... ating-a-10

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Bill Sweetman la chiama 'RESA' .....

The Pentagon will retain “more fourth-generation fighter/attack aircraft” under the new budget, Carter said.
The plan includes a total surrender to those in Congress and the military who criticized the Air Force’s earlier plans, announced two years ago, to retire the entire force of A-10 Warthog close-air-support aircraft.
A-10 retirement has been kicked out to 2022, and Carter referred to the aircraft’s “devastating” effect against Islamic State forces.
Funding for that campaign will also include $1.8 billion for more than 45,000 replacement precision-guided bombs and laser-guided rockets.

Fonte ..... "Carter Touts ‘Arsenal Plane,’ Surrenders on A-10" .....
http://aviationweek.com/defense/carter- ... renders-10

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[giragyro]

si sono accorti di stare facendo la classica minch...a e stan correndo ai ripari con buona pace di chi voleva far fare il CAS all'F35

[richelieu]

E ..... che dice il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA di questa mattina ?

A-10 Supporters in Hog Heaven (*) .....

Brian Everstine (2/3/2016)


​The Air Force deployed 12 A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from Moody AFB, Ga., to Incirlik AB, Turkey, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve on Oct. 15, 2015.
(Air Force photo by A1C Cory W. Bush).

​The Pentagon has switched course and now plans to keep the A-10 fleet operational until 2022, when it will replace the aircraft with F-35s on a squadron-by-squadron basis, said Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday during a speech previewing the department’s Fiscal 2017 budget request.
The decision caves to congressional pressure to keep the aircraft flying, and abandons the Air Force’s previous plan to replace A-10s with fourth generation aircraft, such as F-15s, or to convert A-10 squadrons to other aircraft, such as C-130s and KC-135s, until the F-35 comes online.
Carter acknowledged the aircraft has been “devastating” ISIS as part of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria.
It's also helped recently to deter further Russian aggression in Europe.
Instead, he said, the budget will maintain more of the Air Force’s fourth generation fighter and attack jets than previously planned so “we’ll always have enough aircraft for today’s conflicts.”

(*) ..... 'In Hog Heaven' ..... http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/in+hog+heaven

Nel presente caso è un gioco di parole centrato sul termine Hog ..... in italiano lo si potrebbe rendere, grosso modo, con "in sollucchero".....



AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[MatteF88]

It's also helped recently to deter further Russian aggression in Europe.

Ma lo pensano davvero? O è una battuta?

[giragyro]

son talmente pieni di se da pensarlo davvero mi sa ...ed intanto Putin ha schierato un tale numero di mezzi nei pressi della siria da essere , al momento , in una posizione di premdominanza strategica e tattica in tutto lo scacchiere mediterraneo .....

[richelieu]

It's also helped recently to deter further Russian aggression in Europe.

Ma lo pensano davvero?
O è una battuta?

Certo che quel 'recently' non induce a pensare si riferisse alla 'Guerra Fredda' di vecchia memoria .....

Sono amerikani ..... che ci vuoi fare ?

[richelieu]

Continueranno a produrne le ali .....

The US Air Force has not only ditched long-standing plans to retire the hardy Fairchild Republic A-10 attack airplane but is launching a follow-on wing replacement programme to keep the combat veteran flying well into the next decade.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
..... the air force released a draft statement of work regarding construction of slightly updated versions of the A-10 enhanced wing assembly currently built by Boeing and Korean Aerospace Industries.
Boeing’s contract includes 173 wings with options for 69 more, but the air force confirms that ordering period ends in September.
Boeing has said those wings, based on 3D models of the original thick-skin wing design of the 1970s, could keep the aircraft flying past 2040.

Fonte ..... "USAF to continue A-10 ‘Warthog’ wing production" .....
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... on-421567/

La mia impressione è che gli A-10 continueranno ad essere in servizio ben oltre la data appena ipotizzata .....



AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
.

[Valerio Ricciardi]

La dicotomia fra esigenze operative reali dell'aeronautica militare americana e programma F35
somiglia sempre più, anche come risultati, alla differenza che c'è fra economisti e finanzieri...
--- e prima proprio negli USA , poi a catena (grazie ai c.d. "derivati") in Europa e nel resto del mondo abbiamo visto i risultati dell'azione della finanza sull'economia reale...

su quale candidato Presidente punti Lockheed Martin si sa?

Il Republic A-10 è quello che gli ingegneri e gli analisti chiamano "hard design" (altri esempi: Il Douglas DC3, la bottiglia della Coca Cola, l'accendino Ronson, il frullatore Braun, le Jeep Willis half-ton e il Land Rover 88, ma anche la Fiat 127, il cilindro per serrature tipo Cisa, il Boeing Dash80 con tutti i suoi derivati, il rasoio elettrico Philips, la capsula Soyuz, il telescopio amatoriale Schmidt-Cassegrain tipo Celestron, la Asahi Pentax Spotmatic, etc etc e l'elenco potrebbe essere lungo); l'F35?

[richelieu]

su quale candidato Presidente punti Lockheed Martin si sa?

Non mi stupirei affatto se fosse .....

[richelieu]

Trovati i fondi per mantenere in servizio gli A-10 ..... nelle pieghe di bilancio e ..... nelle pieghe dei ritardi del programma JSF .....

Four Missing F-35 Squadrons .....

John A. Tirpak (2/10/2016)

The Air Force hasn’t backed off its goal of buying 1,763 F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, but it will take longer to buy them, Carolyn Gleason, deputy USAF budget director, told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday.
Gleason said the Air Force hopes to get to an annual buy of 60 F-35s a year by 2021, with the ramp as follows: 43 in Fiscal 2017, 44 in FY18, 48 in both FY19 and FY20, and 60 in FY21.
The ramp represents a “deferral of 75 F-35s, … four squadrons’ worth,” between Fiscal 2017 and 2021, budget director Maj. Gen. James Martin said at the briefing.
Gleason said USAF doesn’t anticipate a huge uptick in F-35 unit cost because of the slowdown, because foreign partners in the program will take up some of the slack with their own JSF orders.
The deferral of 45 aircraft freed up $4.9 billion for other needs, of which about $3.4 billion will keep the Air Force in the A-10 business, Martin said.
The maintainers that were to transfer from the A-10 to the F-35 will now be replaced by “contractor maintenance,” he explained.
The JSF program director, Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, will explain the effects of the Pentagon’s F-35 changes at a press conference on Wednesday.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
.

[richelieu]

A Deborah la cosa piace poco .....

Side Effects May Be Serious, and Include …

John A. Tirpak (2/16/2016)


Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James speaks at an AFA-sponsored Air Force breakfast Feb. 12, 2016.
Photo by Lyndsey Akers.

Because the Air Force has opted to slow the A-10 attack jet’s phased retirement, it will buy contractor logistics support for a number of other legacy platforms in order to shift some seasoned maintainers to the F-35 program.
That could work against the service in the long run, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at an AFA-sponsored Air Force breakfast Friday.
“It’s definitely more money,” James said, unable to immediately peg the difference in cost between organic and CLS.
She said it will be a “temporary approach” as “we very much want to get back to having airmen do this important maintenance,” but “it’s a risk.”
As CLS companies “gear up to provide this maintenance support for us … they could, in effect, directly or indirectly, pull our own airmen into the private sector and that could exacerbate our issue. I hope not, but we’ll see.”
James said the No 1. thing she worries about in regard to achieving full operational capability with the F-35 - targeted for around 2030 - “is the issue of the experienced maintainers.”
Achieving FOC on time is “going to require even more maintainers” for which USAF doesn’t yet have a source, she added.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
.

[richelieu]

Piano di dismissione ..... sempre che, in altri settori, tutto vada come deve andare .....

The Post-Warthog Plan .....

Brian Everstine (2/17/2016)


Screenshot of the Air Force's new Force Structure Action plan for replacing Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve A-10 aircraft.​

The Air Force is adjusting its original plan for replacing Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve A-10s after several failed attempts to divest the fleet.
A new Force Structure Action plan (... http://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/F ... Distro.pdf ...) based on the Fiscal 2017 budget request details what Guard and Reserve units will fly once they lose their A-10s.
USAF now plans to begin replacing the venerable Warthogs on a "squadron-by-squadron" basis in Fiscal 2018.
The final aircraft is slated to retire in 2022 after the F-35 comes on line.
For example, in 2018, the Reserve A-10 unit at Whiteman AFB, Mo., and the Guard unit at Fort Wayne ANGS, Ind., will both transfer to F-16s.
In 2020, the unit at Martin State Airport in Maryland will lose 21 A-10s and gain eight C-130s.
In 2021, Selfridge ANGB, Mich., will lose 21 A-10s and gain 8 KC-135s, while the unit at Gowen Field, Idaho, will lose 21 A-10s and gain 20 F-15Cs.
The operational A-10 unit at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., will lose 25 Warthogs in Fiscal 2019 and will gain 21 F-16s the same year.
The training units assigned to the base will be disbanded in Fiscal 2020 and 2021, losing a total of 58 A-10s, according to the plan.
The Air Force will replace the units assigned to the Guard and Reserve, but there are currently no plans to replace Active Duty A-10 units.
However, there is still time to come up with follow-on missions for the Active Duty if necessary, said Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements .....
http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/D ... olmes.aspx
Active Duty A-10s are stationed at Davis-Monthan; Nellis AFB, Nev.; Moody AFB, Ga.; Eglin AFB, Fla.; and Osan AB, South Korea.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Una puntatina in Bulgaria .....

A-10s Rough it in Bulgaria .....

Arie Church (2/17/2016)

​A-10Cs practiced forward operations from an austere airfield in Bulgaria last week as part of the most recent European theater security package rotation.
"This training will prepare our pilots to land in a variety of surface conditions allowing us to bring the fight even further," 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Bryan France said in a release .....
http://www.spangdahlem.af.mil/news/stor ... =123468881
The A-10s were preceded by combat controllers and an MC-130J Commando II from RAF Mildenhall, UK.
The controllers marked the strip and provided air traffic control, while a small team aboard the MC-130J set up a forward area refueling point to rapidly relaunch the A-10s.
"FARP operations, in combination with austere field operations, provide commanders the ability to project combat capability to areas otherwise denied by traditional airpower methods," France added.
The 74th EFS deployed to Europe from Moody AFB, Ga., for a roughly six-month rotation starting last September.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
.

[richelieu]

A-10s Among the Palms .....

Arie Church (2/25/2016)

A-10s flew close air support for Marine ground forces during a live-fire Integrated Training Exercise held at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., earlier this month.
"Getting to work with live artillery, tanks, mortars, Cobras, and Harriers that are shooting real weapons is pretty rare," said 354th Fighter Squadron pilot Capt. Matthew Barrett, from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
"There's a lot of pieces … you've got the ground forces moving in a very dynamic manner," added pilot Capt. Ryan Rutter in the Feb. 22 release .....
http://www.acc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123469432
Davis-Monthan A-10s, which staged from March ARB, Calif., cooperated with AV-8B Harriers, AH-1Z Vipers, and UH-1Y Huey helicopters from 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing to ready the Marine units for an upcoming expeditionary deployment, according to a release .....
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/189258/ma ... s65Uo-cGM9
HH-60G Pavehawks along with pilots, maintainers, and support personnel from Nellis AFB, Nev., also supported ITX 16-2, which wrapped up earlier this month.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....



AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Da una parte lo lodano ..... dall'altra, sotto sotto, non vedono l' ora di toglierselo di torno ..... e non perdono occasione alcuna per dare lustro a 'Colui che verrà' .....

A New Way to Do Close Air Support .....

Amy McCullough (2/26/2016)

​The F-35 strike fighter “is going to be incredible” in the close air support role, but it won’t do it the same way as the A-10, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Deale, director of operations at Air Combat Command Headquarters, during AWS16 on Thursday .....
http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/D ... deale.aspx
Although the F-35 was not specifically designed to do CAS like the A-10, it offers better sensor integration and battlespace awareness, as well as the ability “to communicate and promulgate that information across the joint force.”
However, there are two things the Air Force will lose when it finally does divest the Warthog: the 30mm cannon and “a little bit of that culture,” said Deale.
But, he added, the culture is “not completely absent” from the rest of the force.
“There isn’t an airman out there in a cockpit that’s not going to lay down their life if a situation on the ground calls for it.”
The F-35’s 25mm cannon will be “extremely effective” in an air-to-ground role and “the F-35 also is the only strike fighter we have in the inventory that on day one, when we need the full stealth capability, it can get in there and penetrate in a highly contested environment and be effective in CAS or whatever mission set we have,” said Deale.
“Then on day six or seven, … we can put external stores pylons on there, and load it up, and it will be a truck bringing precision munitions to whatever mission dictates. That’s something the A-10 can’t do.”

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA ...

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Battibecco .....

McCain Hammers USAF on A-10 .....

Amy McCullough (3/4/2016)


Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh reacts to a tense exchange between himself and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) regarding the A-10 Warthog on March 3, 2016.
Screenshot photo.

Although the Air Force fully funded the A-10 and KC-130 in its Fiscal 2017 budget request, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said the service doesn’t have enough airmen to continue operating the fleets and stand up a new squadron of F-35s.
“With additional manpower and funding to cover the activity, we could certainly do that and I’d be a very happy air chief if we got that increase, but today we do not have the manpower to do both,” said Welsh during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday.
The comments elicited a heated exchange between Welsh and SASC Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
“The only problem, general, with your statement about the A-10 is you have no replacement for it. And, it’s in combat and in operation in Iraq and Syria as we speak … As to the F-35s that will replace it, in fact, you have reduced the number of F-35s that [USAF] is requesting and … it doesn’t match up, general,” said McCain.
Welsh reiterated that the Air Force can conduct the same close air support missions with F-16s and F-15Es, which are currently operating against ISIS, but McCain claimed the A-10 is conducting the lion share of sorties against the terrorist organization and he repeatedly cut Welsh off as he tried to explain the breakdown by aircraft variant.
“But you're using the A-10 because it's the most effective weapons system. This is really, unfortunately, disingenuous. You have the options of using the F-15 and the F-16 right now., but you're not. You're using the A-10,” said McCain.
“Senator, those aren’t the facts on …,” Welsh said, getting cut off again.
“Yes, they are the facts, general,” insisted McCain.
See also:
"Lakenheath F-15s Hit ISIS in Libya" ..... http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pa ... Libya.aspx
"BONES Leave the AOR" ..... http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pa ... e-AOR.aspx
"USAF Begins ISIS Strikes from Turkey" ..... http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pa ... urkey.aspx

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

DefenseNews riporta, con maggiori dettagli, il battibecco fra il senatore McCain e il generale Welsh ..... che, alla fine, viene perentoriamente zittito .....

Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, lit into Air Force leadership on Thursday, saying the service was ignoring the facts about the effectiveness of the A-10 “Warthog.”
McCain slammed Gen. Mark Welsh, the Air Force Chief of Staff, saying the general was being “disingenuous” and that his answers were “embarrassing.”
The exchange became heated, with McCain repeatedly interrupting Welsh before finally cutting the conversation off by saying “Enough general, OK?”

L' articolo ..... "McCain slams USAF chief Welsh on A-10 effectiveness" .....
http://www.defensenews.com/story/milita ... /81267406/

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Tutto va ben ..... con tutto quel che segue .....

Chew On This .....

Jennifer Hlad (3/8/2016)

​Less than a week after a heated exchange with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) over the A-10 .....
http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pa ... -A-10.aspx
..... that had Air Force Chief Gen. Mark Welsh balling his fists in visible frustration, Welsh told reporters he believes the Air Force’s relationship with Congress is “very good” in many ways.
“I don’t think there’s a real problem, overall, that we see, at all,” Welsh said on Monday.
When asked about Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) comments during the same Senate Armed Services Committee in which he asked why the Air Force, and leadership specifically, seem to get into so many fights with Congress, Welsh said, “I do wish we had heard that in some forum other than a hearing, because that was the first we’ve heard that."
However, Welsh also said, “every now and then it’s good to remind myself that it’s good to be more empathetic with my pets’ chew toys.”

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Alla (non facile) ricerca di un adeguato successore .....

The US Air Force has begun studying future close air support (CAS) aircraft to succeed the Fairchild Republic A-10 as the Pentagon evaluates the weaponry it needs for “prolonged operations” of one year or more.
The flying branch is looking at tactical air support platform alternatives for low-intensity “permissive conflict” like counterterrorism and regional stability operations, similar to the types of missions being conducted Iraq and Afghanistan today, where air superiority has been achieved and coalition aircraft can roam relatively freely in support of ground troops.

Fonte ..... "USAF studying future attack aircraft options" .....
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... ns-422936/

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

L' Air Force insiste nei suoi propositi continuando a sostenere che problemi di bilancio e di organico non consentirebbero di mantenere in servizio il Warthog contemporaneamente all' introduzione del Lightning II .....
L' ex colonnello McSally insorge .....

Amid some confusion over when the Air Force will retire the A-10 attack plane, top service officials this week clarified the plan to start drawing down Warthog squadrons in fiscal 2018.
Comments from Defense Secretary Ash Carter in early February seemed to indicate the Air Force would postpone divesting the A-10 until fiscal 2022.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
However, the Air Force will actually begin sunsetting the beloved attack plane in FY18, divesting two A-10 squadrons, or 49 planes, that year, a service spokeswoman confirmed March 17.
The service will retire 49 aircraft in FY19, 64 in FY20, and 96 in FY21.

Fonte ..... "Air Force Clarifies A-10 Retirement Plans" .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Gettate alle ortiche trombe e clarinetti e ..... andate a lavorare .....

L' ex colonnello McSally polemizza, per l'ennesima volta, coi vertici del Pentagono .....

“We have got hundreds of people that are playing the tuba and the clarinet wearing the uniform as opposed to [performing] core military capabilities.”
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
“If we really had a manning crisis, from my perspective, we would tell people to put down the tuba and pick up a wrench or a gun.”

Fonte ..... "Drop the Tuba to Avoid the Boneyard" .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

AAA ..... successore cercasi .....

A draft requirement document that articulated the US Air Force’s need for a new attack aircraft optimised for close air support missions is being circulated within the five walls of the Pentagon and will be reviewed by the service chief “this spring”.
Lt Gen James “Mike” Holmes, USAF deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, says it’s the first step in the long process of planning and budgeting for an aircraft that might someday replace the hardy Fairchild Republic A-10.
If approved by the air force chief of staff, a future close-air-support platform will be considered by a "planning choices” panel this fall for possible inclusion in the service’s five-year budget plan for fiscal years 2018-2022.

Fonte ..... "USAF firming A-X requirements for A-10 'Warthog' alternative" .....

Inoltre .....

DefenseNews ..... "Air Force Moving Forward With A-10 Replacement Option

Daily Report (AFA) ....."Beyond the A-10" .....

Siamo soltanto all' inizio ..... le opzioni sono numerose e ..... la strada sarà ancora mooooolto lunga .....
Ne vedremo delle belle .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Quell' ex pilota di A-10 che, dall' alto del suo incarico, non ne ha saputo o (forse) voluto prenderne in modo adeguato le difese ..... va in pensione .....



"Welsh to Retire July 1" .....

General Mark A. Welsh III .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
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[richelieu]

Di pattuglia sul Mar Cinese Meridionale .....

Five A-10 attack jets, three HH-60G rescue helicopters, one MC-130H, and about 200 airmen will stay on an extended deployment in the Philippines following the annual Balikatan exercise to help patrol the South China Sea, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Thursday.

Fonte ..... "USAF to Patrol South China Sea from the Philippines" .....

..... e in appoggio alla guerra contro l' ISIS .....

A-10s and more than 500 airmen from the Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing deployed on April 12 for the wing’s first major mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, according to a wing release.

Fonte ..... "USAF, USMC Squadrons Deploy to Fight ISIS" .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
.

[richelieu]

Il successore dello A-10 ?
Niente altro che una ..... B-U-F-A-L-A .....

Un puntuto ed argomentato articolo descrive le manovre messe in atto dall' USAF per ritirare dall' inventario un velivolo ormai considerato 'scomodo' ..... e sostituirlo, in un futuro non meglio precisato, con un qualcosa che, dato il considerevole impegno finanziario profuso in una serie di importanti e costosissimi programmi, con tutta probabilità non avrà mai la possibilità di essere realizzato .....

The fight to kill the A-10 Warthog rages on in Washington after the U.S. Air Force tried to sneak-retire the incredibly useful attack jet following a failure to get Congressional approval to end it outright.
Now the Air Force’s shell game includes a potential A-10 replacement, dubbed the A-X.

Fonte ..... "The Air Force Initiative To Replace The A-10 Warthog Is Nothing But Vaporware" .....

Nell' articolo è contenuto un video che mostra l' aspro scontro fra il senatore McCain e il CSM USAF generale Welsh ..... che si trova visibilmente in difficoltà .....
La sua trascrizione la potete trovare a partire dalla pagina 26 di questo PDF .....

"Stenographic Transcript Before the COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES - UNITED STATES SENATE - HEARING TO RECEIVE TESTIMONY ON THE POSTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE IN REVIEW OF THE DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION REQUEST FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017 AND THE FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM - Thursday, March 3, 2016 - Washington, D.C." .....

AYOTTE (or McSALLY) for President 2020 .....
.

[Vultur]

Non so chi dei due è il più lontano da casa.

[flyforever85]

In USAF si dice: l'ISIS ha dato una seconda vita all'A10... magari e' solo un pretesto chissa'