Looking For A Successor To The A-10

An A-10 fires its gun. Air Force photo

Pilots Plan Tomorrow’s A-10 -- Dave Majumdar, War Is Boring

What would a next-generation replacement for the legendary attack jet look like?

Short on cash and determined to prioritize new stealth warplanes, the U.S. Air Force is busily trying to rid itself of all 350 of its slow- and low-flying A-10 Warthog attack planes—this despite the heavily-armed twin-engine jet’s impressive combat record stretching back to the 1991 Gulf War.

But the flying branch still needs to support American troops on the ground—the Warthog’s raison d’etre. With that in mind, around 20 highly experienced A-10 pilots and engineers are working on unofficial specifications for a successor to the Warthog.

The group started off with using the original A-X program requirements that resulted in the Warthog starting nearly 50 years ago. Even though technology has advanced since the 1960s, the fundamentals of what is required for the close air support mission have not changed.

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My Comment: This "replacement" effort is not sanctioned by the Pentagon .... which means that the successor to the A-10 will probably not be developed for some time. But kudos to these pilots and engineers for their efforts .... they probably are aware that such a plane does serve a vital role on the battlefield and one day their efforts will be rewarded.