williepete
Platinum Member
- Banned
- #1
Combat Search and Rescue.
Slow speed and loiter time down in the dirt. Something with the bad attitude, claws and fangs of a mama bear needs to be close to our downed airmen until the choppers arrive. On their way out with their precious cargo, those gallant chopper rescue pilots need the same firepower to escort them out.
F-35? F-22? They're 8 miles up or more. I'm a fan of both platforms but when it comes to C.S.A.R., we could do better.
The surety of a vicious search and rescue team trained and available to get your happy azz out of bad guy land and back to the O-Club where you belong should be permanently tattooed to the back of every aviator's brain housing unit as he suits up for urban renewal.
When the Warthog is scrapped and we can't get a downed airman out of an area that is deemed too hot for choppers by the desk warmers, what do we tell the parents, wives and kids? How's that ISIS torture/execution video going to play on prime time when it becomes obvious a C.S.A.R. team with teeth could have gotten him out? The counter argument will be the new stealthy jets won't get shot down.
In my most humble opinion, the C.S.A.R. mission needs to lead the argument in keeping at least a token A-10 fleet alive. The A-10 replaced the Skyraider which performed a superb C.S.A.R. role in Vietnam. There's an old Wings episode in this link that describes the role of the Skyraider, a.k.a. Spad in Vietnam. Worth considering. I'd like to see our gallant C.S.A.R. helo jocks KEEP some serious back up.
.02
These A-10s Get Down And Dirty During A Combat Search And Rescue Drill
Slow speed and loiter time down in the dirt. Something with the bad attitude, claws and fangs of a mama bear needs to be close to our downed airmen until the choppers arrive. On their way out with their precious cargo, those gallant chopper rescue pilots need the same firepower to escort them out.
F-35? F-22? They're 8 miles up or more. I'm a fan of both platforms but when it comes to C.S.A.R., we could do better.
The surety of a vicious search and rescue team trained and available to get your happy azz out of bad guy land and back to the O-Club where you belong should be permanently tattooed to the back of every aviator's brain housing unit as he suits up for urban renewal.
When the Warthog is scrapped and we can't get a downed airman out of an area that is deemed too hot for choppers by the desk warmers, what do we tell the parents, wives and kids? How's that ISIS torture/execution video going to play on prime time when it becomes obvious a C.S.A.R. team with teeth could have gotten him out? The counter argument will be the new stealthy jets won't get shot down.
In my most humble opinion, the C.S.A.R. mission needs to lead the argument in keeping at least a token A-10 fleet alive. The A-10 replaced the Skyraider which performed a superb C.S.A.R. role in Vietnam. There's an old Wings episode in this link that describes the role of the Skyraider, a.k.a. Spad in Vietnam. Worth considering. I'd like to see our gallant C.S.A.R. helo jocks KEEP some serious back up.
.02
These A-10s Get Down And Dirty During A Combat Search And Rescue Drill