How so? I feel as if reducing the number in operation and the resulting flight hours might show a significant cost savings. Based on the hourly rates from 2010, the F-15C should be the one to go.

My thanks to everyone for making this such a marvelous thread!

Best regards

I can understand that role of A-10 can be taken over by other non-specialized aircraft, say F-15s for heavy ground attack with loiter capacity. But another issue would be, as to how is Apache Helo more survivable on any battlefield compared to A-10?

I’d say the AH-64 isn’t any more survivable than the A-10. The AH-64 is armored, but a couple of well-placed round to the tail rotor and its gone. The A-10 has taken missile hits in the 1990 Gulf War and survived. Any other aircraft may have very well been lost under those circumstances. An exception being the Israeli F-15 that lost a whole wing and managed to fly back home.

How important is the Avenger cannon to the equation? No other type of aircraft can put those type of rounds on target, so fast and so many. The closest thing would be an AH-64 at a slower volume and subject to greater threats from AAA to 12 year-olds with AK’s. A scenario involving China is the only one where the A-10 could probably perform its designed mission. The U.S. and China are not going to war any time soon. No drone is going to fly into hostile airspace and deal with the modern PLAAF, even with air cover.