Will the most lethal predator of the skies make the cut?
by DANIEL DEPINA
WASHINGTON, DC. -- After making its absurd case for retiring the most capable counter-insurgency and close air support platform in existence, the USAF is deploying the Warthog back to Iraq. The Indiana Air National Guard's 122nd FW will be taking the 'Hog on an unprecedentedly large and long deployment to CENTCOM's area of operations this October where it will likely take on ISIS like only the 'Hog can.
A move to deploy the A-10 to fight ISIS is a totally logical one, as there is no better aircraft for executing strike coordinated armed reconnaissance (SCAR) and close air support (CAS) than it. This is especially true as the hunt for ISIS fighters and material will proceed largely without the help of forward air controllers (otherwise known as JTACs) on the ground, at least according to the White House and the Pentagon. Basically, SCAR sorties are search and destroy missions, something that is not easy to do in a relatively fragile, fuel hungry, supersonic capable jet flying at close to 20,000 feet. A modern fighter pilot, without a pair of very well trained boots on the ground, only has their soda-straw-like-field-of view-capable targeting pod, and in most cases, a tiny screen the size of a compact disc case, to actually survey the imagery it is collecting. On the other hand, the A-10, and its very ground-attack oriented skilled pilot, has all the same tools as an F-16 for CAS and SCAR missions, but it also has the ability to get much lower so that it can bring a pair of binoculars, or even a naked eyeball, to bear on the action below.
In this lower-altitude and higher threat environment, an A-10 pilot can rapidly build up a picture of what is going on, and can engage the enemy repeatedly with laser guided and GPS bombs, Maverick missiles, Wind Corrected Munitions Dispensers (guided cluster bombs), rockets and of course, its daunting 30mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon. Additionally, A-10 pilots are by-and-large also airborne forward air controllers (FAC-A). Building up a game plan based on the assets available, they can use their quarterback-like expertise and better vantage point to call in the weaponry carried by any other coalition aircraft in such a way that it maximizes their combined effects on the enemy.
The Warthog's straight wing maneuverability, heavy armor, defensive suite, honeycomb construction and redundant systems allows it to venture down into the MANPADS (shoulder fired heat-seeking missile) engagement envelope, an area where no other fixed wing military aircraft was actually built to operate in. If indeed the 'Hog is allowed to operate in this dynamic environment for which it was originally designed, it could deal ISIS an incredibly heavy blow.