on both beyond current forecasts. In
combination, this can create a vicious
cycle. As Combat Aircraft has detailed
previously, lack of maintenance and too
great a demand has strained the USAF
across the board.Relieving the pressure
A potentially hopeful sign for
overstretched USAF fighter squadrons
is that the service is still assessing OA-X,
the evaluation of the benefits of fielding
300 new light attack aircraft. The study
includes the Hawker Beechcraft AT-Wolverine and Sierra Nevada Inc’s A-
Super Tucano, among others. These are
ideal for conducting counter-insurgency
aerial warfare from crude airfields with a
minimal footprint, maintenance and cost.
Such aircraft are also useful for new pilots
to gain experience and can soak up some
of the deployed operations burden.
If the USAF decided to buy its own light
attack aircraft, they could be sufficiently
versatile to take part in missions in the
Middle East, Africa and other hotspots,
maybe taking over some of the A-10’s
roles in low-threat environments inthe absence of a ground-based anti-
aircraft threat. Such threats would
necessitate the use of F-35s, for example,
to survive. Moreover, many argue that
even perceived low-threat situations,
as faced in OIR, are still too fraught with
potential dangers and require a far more
sophisticated solution than OA-X affords
to meet the range of potential missions.
The question is whether a so-called light
attack platform would ever be able to truly
fill in for an A-10. Even versus IS, the USAF
has been forced to adapt the ‘Warthog’
and its techniques to become a versatile
heavy striker in urban warfare, armed
with larger payloads than an AT-6 or A-
could handle. While the Super Tucano is
capable of carrying more than 3,000lb of
ordnance, including heavier laser-guided
bombs, the A-29s of the Afghan Air Force,
for example, have not dropped any such
weapons, according to NATO, given
airspeed performance issues related to the
aircraft’s sensors.
If the USAF had gone into OIR with AT-6s
instead of A-10s, it would have needed to
call upon other fighter communities to
strike IS fighters hiding inside tall buildings
in cities, while avoiding civilian casualties
and absorbing ground fire in those
locations. A lightly armored Super Tucano
with its primary cannon and rocket
armament is arguably more useful for
CAS in open-terrain engagements versus
complex urban warfare.
There is no guarantee that the USAF will
conclude from its experimentation that
a light attack aircraft is a sensible path
to take. Any direct replacement for the
‘Warthog’ — be that OA-X or the follow-on
AX-2 — is barely more than a set of draft
requirements, and there is no guarantee
of a formal program. What’s clear for now
is that the A-10 has once again justified its
survival — that is, until the next attempt is
made to cull the ‘Warthog’.‘To have boots
on the ground,
you need support and
you need the right kind
of support to have
boots on the ground.
It’s the A-10, honestly.’
TSgt Sean Deam,
USAF joint terminal attack controllerThis 74th EFS A-
shows off the
incredibly
versatile
weapons loads
the jets were
carrying: 70mm
rockets, AGM-
Maverick, GBU-12,
GBU-31 JDAM and
GBU-54 laser
JDAM. USAF/SSgt
Paul Labbe1616 March 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
14-16 The Briefing C.indd 16 19/01/2018 11: