The benefits about the A-10 is they can be shopped on quickly and easily because of the simple engineering. Alot of the parts are 'off the shelf' and cheap. Making it an extremely cost-effective plane as opposed to the high tech 145million+ for some of todays 'advanced' fighter/bombers etc etc.. Additionally their wingspan can retain a massive array of firepower, providing even a single A-10 the ability to cause devastation that would make anyone blush. The plane was literally built around the cannon itself. They pretty much said "take this gun, and put a plane around it.. get it in the air."
Not to mention the engines are some of the quieter types, making it a good 'sneak up and pounce' aggressor.
I have two tracer rounds from the nose cannon of the A-10, sitting on a bookshelf here in my studio. My father managed the maintenance and upgrades for A-10s out of McClellan AFB in Sacramento, Ca. for a good portion of his career. Along with the F-111 and F-16 (and a little bit of attention to the F-15 I believe) 30mm and 3,900 rounds per minute... no amount of coffee can bring you back from that.
It's true they use depleted uranium rounds sometimes, also HE, and other types. They use pure depleted uranium for missles even today.. no explosive, just solid mass. But that's a different subject entirely.
I loved flying the A-10 in BF:DC, it was loads of fun. It would be cool to see it in a future pack, or possibly in BF:SF. Don't care how, as long as it comes to be available.
Granted the A-10 could eventually be replaced in order to mothball forces into fewer more multi/role type aircraft. But of all the bomber types, the A-10 has proven it's worth a hundred fold on many, many stages across the globe.
I'll also add it was still used in recent scenarios in the middle-east, including protection at the elections in Afghanistan. It's far from useless, even if most of the fighting and rage is currently ground involved.
( see:
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=70 )
Bottom line though, I agree.. would love to see it in the game. *nod*
I love me some A-10's
Last edited by summoner (2005-10-28 18:24:00)