Long Road Ahead For Possible A-10 Follow-On | Defense content from Aviation Week
The U.S. Air Force’s interest in a possible new close air support (CAS) platform to replace the A-10 Thunderbolt II is about “capacity,” says Air Combat Command chief Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle – a sign that a projected downturn in the number of fighters in the inventory will make it insufficient to meet current missions.
The look at a new CAS platform is only in the study phase, but Carlisle says careful review is needed not for capability as much as potentially fielding extra aircraft to augment a dwindling fleet.
“There is a capability requirement for the future threat. There is also a capacity discussion,” Carlisle tells Aviation Week. “As … you look at the real high-end players and … if they get to the capability that we anticipate that they will get to … we have to keep thinking about how we maintain that capacity … There may be an inflection point in the future that says at this point we need more capacity and to get that we have to do it at lower cost.” However, with the current threat and budget environment “we are not there yet.”
Carlisle opened the door to a new platform designed to handle the CAS mission during remarks last month at the annual Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium. The Air Force recently conducted a week-long summit on CAS with its sister services in an effort to “re-energize” the discussion on the mission area, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said. A look at an A-10 follow-on was one of the topics of discussion, though Carlisle notes there is no urgency to move forward now, in large part due to budget pressure.
The challenge ahead is twofold. The service could simply face a shortfall of available assets to cover the panoply of missions required – from combat air patrols in the U.S. to supporting wars abroad as well as low-intensity conflicts.
