Close air support

When enemy fighters are engaged by U.S. ground forces, they often resort to a time tested strategy to deny the U.S. forces full use of their arsenal. At least since Vietnam, enemy forces have known that close combat means the U.S. troops are in danger from some of their own weapons, and that danger will make the U.S. force reluctant to employ those weapons.

This reluctance includes calling for close air support, which in Vietnam was often taken up by helicopters and especially the AH-1 Bell Hueycobra. The name derived from the fact that the attack helicopter was built using the power train from the UH-1 Huey utility helicopter.

In March 1977 the U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt was entered into service as the only U.S. close air support aircraft. Nicknamed the Warthog, it received public recognition as a tank killer in the Gulf War against Iraqi forces in Kuwait and Iraq. Ground troops have relied on the A-10 for faster response and heavier close air support than from helicopters.

The A-10 has remained in the Air Force inventory and has been used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but the Air Force is determined to retire the airplane. One stated reason was it is being replaced by the F-22 Raptor. However, the F-22, an effective long-range combat fighter, whose production ended in 2012, was plagued by problems. Now, it is claimed that the F-35 will be the replacement close combat support aircraft. Estimates say that the F-35 will not reach full close air support capabilities until as late as 2022.

Given that delay, it seems that the demise of the A-10 is premature. It is currently flying missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet the Air Force planned to eliminate 104 of its 348 aircraft in its 2012 budget.

Wars are ultimately won on the ground, but the air force seems to see close air support as a secondary or low priority mission. The question must be asked if the premature attempts to remove the A-10 are the result of lobbying by another aircraft manufacturer or its contractors.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He resides in Chaffee, Missouri.