DrainBamage
Gold Member
- Dec 31, 2016
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Smart bombs aren't expensive, anymore a JDAM costs about $25k. Their accuracy more than makes up for price difference with simple gravity bombs since you drop one instead of six to ensure same results. They are also far more effective in CAS since can be dropped relatively close to friendlies, they have put 500lb PGMs within 100 meters of friendlies, no way you're trying that with a free fall dumb bomb.Imagine the US gets involved in a real war again. Like in Iraq 2003, most sorties will be CAS sorties. The war could last for years and the warparties will eventually run out of the expensive smartbombs they have wasted on large troop contingents while a simple gravity bomb would have done the same damage.
They upgraded A-10s to A-10C, reason = so it could drop smart bombs. In today's CAS missions A-10 primary weapon is JDAMs and LGBs, same as with other planes.Wouldn´t you agree that the A-10, one of the cheapest aircraft regarding cost per hour and nevertheless celebrated by the ground troops for its excellent performance, would be of major importance, while the F35 would not only lack of smartbombs but would also be needed to counter the enemy airforce?
In your scenario (years into another war in Iraq) there is no enemy air force, but assuming there was a significant threat from enemy aircraft the A-10 wouldn't even be flying. F-35 can do both, it can support ground operations and switch to air superiority role.