From the website:

John Boyd is rolling over in his grave ...

The F-35 pilot came right out and said it — if you’re flying a JSF, there’s no point in trying to get into a sustained, close turning battle with another fighter. “There were not compelling reasons to fight in this region.” God help you if the enemy surprises you and you have no choice but to turn.

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/test-p ... db9d11a875

Doesn't the Navy have a ship mounted laser nowadays that can vaporize any airborne target in a second from 100's or 1000's of miles away? I don't think anyone needs to dogfight anymore.

That would be LaWS. I don't know the range, but the inverse-square law applies, so I am very skeptical of "100's or 1000's of miles away."

Yeah I dunno either but there are some videos on YouTube. I'm not sure the LaWS is the one I saw on Discovery a while back but the laser in question was designed take out flying targets from far away. I remember it being much larger than LaWS. If it does exist, it seems it would pretty much make anything flying obsolete.

That's what happens when you try to design an airplane that can do everything. You end up with a plane that can't do anything well. Brings to mind the F111. It was supposed to be a fighter and a bomber. Couldn't maneuver well enough to be a fighter, didn't have the range to be a bomber. The best role it had was as the EF111 'Sparkvaark'.

When you try to design one plane that will satisfy the needs of all branches of the military, none of them get what they want.

Bob

And it costs a lot more than necessary. Bring back the A10, it was such a wonderful tool for the job it was designed for.

I would imagine a satellite based laser would be better for thinner atmosphere? Probably need a lil nucalar reactor to give it enough punch.

The A10 is a rocking plane. Its a shame the USAF had it and not just let the Marines do their thing with it.

"Dogfighting is not a crime".

Nothing like that fielded.

The real problem even if the laser was fielded is ID & ROE.

...interesting to consider--the potential trend of over reliance by the AF in technology and emphasis on risk aversion in their input to aircraft designs and strategic/tactical war planning/execution...

I think the Marines are pretty happy with their AV8s and F/A18s.

F16, 18, and 15 are all pretty good multirole machines. Fighters, bombers, CAS, BAI, deep strike, weasel, recce.

"I think the Marines are pretty happy with their AV8s and F/A18s."

...actually, former Marine Corps Officers with recent combat experience have been among the most vocal in support of the A-10--clearly maintaining that there is no substitute for the Warthog in many of the combat scenarios they faced...

Pilots? Just flew with a Marine Harrier guy, talked a lot about it. A10s don't fit in their ops. No short field, no carrier ops. They are happy with what they have. They ground guys don't know that much about CAS, IME. Not sure where you got your info.

"Pilots? Just flew with a Marine Harrier guy, talked a lot about it. A10s don't fit in their ops. No short field, no carrier ops. They are happy with what they have. They ground guys don't know that much about CAS, IME. Not sure where you got your info."

...agreed that the A-10 isn't a good fit for Marines' integral air assets...as discussed in the POGO A-10 thread the fact that the Warthog isn't suited for carrier operations rules it out for the Marines because of their unique missions

...disagree though that the A-10 doesn't have short field capabilities...indeed, that is one of its strengths as evidenced by the fact that it has been deployed into areas of operations in the Current War on Terror ahead of other aircraft because of its capabilities of operating in austere conditions and without the necessity of longer more improved airstrips

...your not seriously suggesting that Marine Infantry Officers "don't know much about CAS"?

In my Army Infantry Officers Advanced Course we had two Marine Infantry Officers attending as part of a cross services training exchange that routinely takes place, and I ran across other Marines during the course of my career...without question, they were among the finest and most qualified Officers I've ever met...problematic, to be kind, to suggest that they don't have a complete and through understanding of CAS

...as I mentioned former active duty Marine Officers (and some active duty officers as well although obviously not in a public forum)who have been in the fight recently have spoken quite passionately regarding the strengths of the A-10 in providing their Marines CAS...and notwithstanding whether the A-10 is a good fit in their Air Wings or not, the Warthog is ideally suited for Marine CAS missions in areas of operations (like we have ongoing at this time) where it is feasible for the AF to be on site conducting operations...

...interesting to that one of the Marine Officers in particular noted that the psychological benefit (positive for his Marines and decidedly negative for the bad guys) of having the Warthog on station is an extremely important component of the A-10...this is a very important point--one that unfortunately for our troops on the ground the AF (as an institution) doesn't get

Donald, the A10 is a lousy short field airplane. It can operate from austere locations with long runways. Lands short, but needs normal runways for takeoff.

After 800 hours in the A10, I'm fairly familiar with it's strengths and limitations.

As far as Army understanding of CAS, I'm pretty familiar with that too. Not gonna rehash the A10 thread.