A-10 Warthogs taxiing back in to RAF Lakenheath after diverting
Posted by MidlandsSpotter@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 65 comments
A couple of Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolts arriving back at RAF Lakenheath shortly after departing to the Middle East. They were diverted back here not long after they'd left, many unconfirmed rumours about why.
jungleboy1234@reddit
are they still at lakenheath as of 04/04? I might pop by...
MidlandsSpotter@reddit (OP)
I've not seen any shots of departures after yesterday so I assume they're still there
jungleboy1234@reddit
cool. thanks.
Skyremmer102@reddit
The reason they were diverted back is that they'd make easy pickings for Iranian surface to air weapons.
For a conflict against Iran they're pretty much useless.
Ornery_Year_9870@reddit
You are correct. But you have hurt the feels of all the Warthog fanbois and so they downvote you.
Ornery_Year_9870@reddit
Because A-10s are not survivable in an area with effective antiaircraft weapons. If Iran can down an F-15E and hit an F-35, and A-10 is a sitting duck.
Mediocre-Catch9580@reddit
I thought we were getting rid of the A10s?
MidlandsSpotter@reddit (OP)
They are dwindling down, but their retirement has been ongoing for a while now. Supposedly they'll be gone by the end of the year, probably pushed back to next year now ðŸ˜
John_the_Piper@reddit
Saw an article a few days ago that the Marine Corps has started looking into the A-10 as a viable coastal patrol aircraft, so they might get saved from retirement yet again
afkPacket@reddit
How would a single seat aircraft with little to no sensors on board make a good patrol aircraft?
Traditional_Drama_91@reddit
I wonder how serious that consideration can be, surely there has to be a better option for the Marine Corps than acquiring a 50 year old maintenance hog that they have no type experience with?
lt_dt@reddit
I'm not sure how much of a maintenance hog it is. It's a pretty tough and simple airframe. The engine was used on the S-3, so lots of spares sitting in the desert, and the engine has a civilian version that is still in service on bizjets and RJs.
John_the_Piper@reddit
If I remember the article correctly, it would be kept as an AF Reserve aircraft for joint operations. The Marines wouldn't take full ownership. Maintenance cost aside, I think the idea does have some reasonable thought behind it? It can conduct low altitude coastal patrols with a decent loiter time, and has a good survivability chance against fast attack boats and drones.
I don't know if it's the "best" option, but it doesn't sound like a bad one. The Marines seem to be making pretty purposeful and calculated moves in recent years. I'd be curious to hear what a USMC think tank would come up with as a fleshed out role for the A-10.
Traditional_Drama_91@reddit
The reasonable thought I’ve heard behind using them for that role is their loiter time and the fact that they can be absolute bomb trucks. Â
Personally I think they’re moving more into the area to support ground operations rather than just over watching the strait.
CarminSanDiego@reddit
And we also weren’t suppose to go back into the desert
Mediocre-Catch9580@reddit
I love the A10.  I think it’s a beautiful plane.Â
natneo81@reddit
They were.. and it was finally starting to seem like they might actually fully retire them, but now they’re seeing a bunch of use. I’m not an A-10 fanboy, but I also think it gets a little too much hate sometimes. It’s a great aircraft in certain use cases. I’m also not convinced we have a good replacement. I know the AT-6 Wolverine is meant to fulfill a similar purpose but I dunno. For all its shortcomings the A-10 carries a shit ton of ordnance, can loiter forever, and is fairly robust/survivable. It also seems like it’d be well suited to the counter UAS/USV role.
John_the_Piper@reddit
Wolverine or Super Tacano are the only viable replacement for the A-10, but I kind of agree with your doubts on them fully being able to replicate it's effectiveness. The Warthog is hard to beat in the really niche roles we've found it useful for.
Outrageous_Potato958@reddit
A couple of the ARG units still have them, this one is from the ARG unit in Selfridge, just north of Detroit. They're phasing to F-15s soon
ReturnOfTheSaint14@reddit
The USAF yearns for the master of teamkillers and MANPADS eater,it shall be eternal like the BUFF
spastical-mackerel@reddit
Iran has 1500 small speedboats, each with a single anti-ship missile and a heavy machine gun. Our zillion dollar surface fleet, naval air force and regular air force can’t deal with them swarming, and thus the IRGC has closed the Strait of Hormuz. Idea may be to just use the low/slow Hog to brrrrrrrrt them all up and reopen the the Strait.
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
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RegiABellator@reddit
Now that I think about it, is it possible to fly warthogs with the gun removed? Like if the gun is catastrophically damaged and needs to be removed from the aircraft can they fly it somewhere else to replace the gun?
I know that the entire thing is designed around the placement and weight of the gun so how would that work? Do they have special counterweights they can just throw in there?
ScottOld@reddit
Was a surprise to see them actually appear on flight radar as well
MidlandsSpotter@reddit (OP)
That was definitely odd! Gave us a bit of a chuckle when they popped up considering how secretive this sort of stuff usually is! 😄
pasenast@reddit
I just need them to make more with updates. Like twin cannons, and that cool canopy the F-35 & F-22’s get.
idostufandthingz@reddit
Loss of the F-15?
mishap1@reddit
Sudden discovery of some SAM installations ChatGPT didn't tell them about.
m71nu@reddit
The Air Force does not rely on ChatGPT! They are not that incompetent. They use Claude.
CarminSanDiego@reddit
Claude is too woke
mishap1@reddit
Grok would probably keep directing them to Northern France.
JohnHazardWandering@reddit
"Grok says here we should bomb downtown Tel Aviv because that's where Iran hides their missiles. Go get 'em boys!"
fumar@reddit
Nah they banned Claude for being too wokeÂ
Traditional_Drama_91@reddit
MidlandsSpotter@reddit (OP)
Unrelated. They came over on Monday and Tuesday.
Could still be related to Iran though. Will have to see if they get used there in the next few weeks.
idostufandthingz@reddit
Oh I assumed they diverted back today
MidlandsSpotter@reddit (OP)
Oh sorry, I thought you meant their deployment was related.
The rumours I've heard are: weather, French ATC and refuelling issues.
I don't believe the refuelling issues because both groups came back at the same time, would be some coincidence for both to have separate issues at the same time.
I don't really believe they'd plan so badly that they'd leave unless the weather was clear enough to get there.
But I do believe the French ATC could be irritating enough to only deny them access when they're all on their way 😂
Clickclickdoh@reddit
Refueling issues and French ATC may be the same thing. They were probably supposed to meet a tanker somewhere enroute. If French ATC wouldn't allow the tanker in their airspace, that could have caused the ferry flight to have to abort.
MidlandsSpotter@reddit (OP)
Yeah that's definitely possible! and they only brought one tanker with them so wouldn't have had the fuel to go around past Gibraltar
Dezzie19@reddit
Serious dust storm in Greece might possibly have something to do with it?
Delladv@reddit
Great machine! so good they did not retire them!
Skyremmer102@reddit
They're only good against people that can't shoot back.
Sixguns1977@reddit
Lol that's the first time I've heard that.
UnspeakablePudding@reddit
It is? Just on the face of it, big, slow, and not at all stealthy.Â
Everything I've ever read suggests that the US expected the A-10 to suffer terribly in conventional war with the Warsaw pact or other near-peer adversary.
Sixguns1977@reddit
Yes. When I was infantry(1st Cav), it was considered close air support and had a reputation for being able to take a beating and make it back home.
cosmo7@reddit
The A-10, like the Apache helicopter, was expressly designed to fight in the Fulda Gap against the Warsaw Pact.
Skyremmer102@reddit
It was designed as a stable gun platform. At the time the aircraft was designed, plane designers were rapidly considering guns to be obsolete on aircraft.
That inherent stability makes it quite unmanoeuvrable and therefore easy to shoot because it's predictable.
sonnytron@reddit
You mean like… Every combat plane?
PeteLangosta@reddit
If you can't see the difference between an A-10 and an F-16 that's on you, really.
Skyremmer102@reddit
That seems to be the case lol
But faster, more manoeuvrable aircraft with lower wing loading so that it turns better with less loss of speed and higher thrust to weight ratios so it can accelerate more quickly stand a better chance of survival when defending against a locked missile.
m71nu@reddit
Fortunately all of Iran's offensive capabilities have been destroyed.
EmotioneelKlootzak@reddit
Several times a week, even. Soon they'll be at negative infinity air defense and the US will gain aircraft every time they fly over
BuyerAlive5271@reddit
They are tough planes but I think we can attribute a lot of their operational successes to the ability of the US to establish no fly zones.
unreqistered@reddit
they are …
Hodgetwins32@reddit
I swear i’ve seen this exact A-10 at Selfridge or another local airshow in MI
Outrageous_Potato958@reddit
You likely have, Selfridge only has 24 frames
CouchPotatoFamine@reddit
I want to use one of their titanium bathtubs as a real bathtub in my house.
Sotnos99@reddit
I don't think I've ever seen one front on before! What an interest design
whopperlover17@reddit
Notice how the nose wheel is off center for the massive gun
Inevitable_Train1511@reddit
My second favorite plane after the dehaviland dash 8, thank you for your attention to this matter.
Andrea-Di-Cello@reddit
What a beauty
Thel_Odan@reddit
Looks like it's from the 107th out of Selfridge in Michigan.
lief101@reddit
Not quite Winchester but close.
post-explainer@reddit
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