Declassified (kinda) report on F-35 vs A10

sublight_

sublight_

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sferrin said:
"POGO". Next. . .
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POGO received a copy of the “F-35A and A-10C Comparison Test” report through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and subsequent litigation after the original request in April 2022 went unanswered.
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This sounds familiar.

Pentagon officials worked hard to suppress the results of the flyoff tests between the F-35 and A-10. POGO filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the report the day after Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall acknowledged its existence during a House Armed Services hearing on April 27, 2022, more than three full years after the tests concluded. POGO’s original FOIA request went unanswered. The Air Force relented in releasing the report only after POGO’s legal team filed a FOIA lawsuit in federal court.
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Sigh.
 
"Nearly 22 years later, the notion of the F-35 as an affordable replacement for any program has long-since been shattered. Serious questions remain as to whether the unreliable F-35 can be an effective replacement for the successful F-16."

Oh, I'm sure POGO is totally objective. Totally.
 
The report itself was interesting, even if over half of it was blacked out...
The majority of F-35 test-pilots had experience in the A-10 and FAC(A) mission, though they still struggled with pilot workload flying the Block 3 model. The report ends with eight bullets of recommendations to improve the F-35 for the CAS, CSAR, and FAC(A) missions though it's understandably blacked out as well.

A frequent comment by both F-35A and A-10C pilots during debriefings was the synergies that would occur If A-10C Sandy-qualified formations operated with F-35A escort during contested CSAR missions. This would combine the strengths of both platforms while mitigating their limitations to improve the likelihood of mission success.
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Hopefully the Air Force took their comments to heart.
 
isayyo2 said:
The report itself was interesting, even if over half of it was blacked out...
The majority of F-35 test-pilots had experience in the A-10 and FAC(A) mission, though they still struggled with pilot workload flying the Block 3 model. The report ends with eight bullets of recommendations to improve the F-35 for the CAS, CSAR, and FAC(A) missions though it's understandably blacked out as well.


Hopefully the Air Force took their comments to heart.
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IMO it was a pretty dumb contest to start with. Like comparing a Ferrari and a pickup truck to see which one carries bricks better.
 
"Pilots flying in both the F-35 and A-10 in the tests repeatedly said A-10s performing the attack role with F-35s providing cover would be a powerful combination. “This would combine the strengths of both platforms while mitigating their limitations to improve the likelihood of mission success".

As for the brick carrying role, man math's suggests the Ferrari will do a better job. Sheer want one factor. However, not much chance of the company owner shelling out for that expensive a hod variety.
 

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