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0 pointsirjustin5y ago0 comments

A-10's still hold the sentiment as the best CAS.

There are actually better fighters on a $/hr basis. The A-10 is a bit pricy to maintain. The A-29, propeller plane, holds a promising position[0].

Helicopters tend not to be the platform of choice, but I'm not well versed enough to know why. Many times it comes down to which branch flies helicopters vs fixed winged aircraft. And simply that branch doesn't have the "rights" to fly the right kind of craft given the mission... weird stuff.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Attack/Armed_Reconnaissa...

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hajile5y ago

Minutes matter.

An apache helicopter has a cruising speed of around 165mph while the A-10 has a cruising speed of around 340mph.

The army had a helicopter design (Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne) back in the 1960s that in it's final prototype tests was going 255mph. The Air Force got upset and politics killed it off. The Lockheed/Sikorsky S-97 Raider seems to use a lot of the same design ideas (pusher propeller, fixed rotor, small wings) and is very fast (250mph cruise speed), but almost 50 years later. Maybe politics are less of an issue this time around.

I suppose the v22 Osprey could play the CAS role, but it seems much too expensive. You can buy almost 6 Apache helicopters for the cost of one v22 (13m vs 75m per unit). That cost is an issue because -- adjusted for inflation -- the A-10 cost 16.5m per unit and can withstand much more damage before needing replacement.

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