March 14, 2002 at 1:25 pm
The thread on the JSF vs A-10 was a long one. It seems that a specialised CAS plane like the A-10 and the Su-25 have no future in the new world.
Off-board sensors, stealth VTOL/CTOL are the answers for future wars, they say.
What about Attack Helos, there are so many out there. But even if heavily armoured planes like A-10 and the Frogfoot cannot survive in these world, how would the Skinny bird survive in a modern battlefield.
AH is very vulnerable to MANPADS, AAAs and even Ma Duce (.50 Browning). They supposed to survive even a hit from a 23mm cannon but hit the tail rotor and you have a flying coffin.