Before our two year budget gets approved the DOD will have to cut a further 5 Billion dollars from the defense budget. So for the USAF a further delay for the F-35 was already mentioned. The USA is supposed to draw down another 40,000 troops and around 19,000 civilian personnel. And we'll the effects of that here after Thanksgiving. With all this "doom and gloom" it appears you can't keep and "old bird" down face it, it's still our best CAS asset we have. Here's the latest.
http://www.janes.com/article/49836/p...ic-replacement
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...utm_medium=RSS
http://www.janes.com/article/54629/u...10a-re-winging
http://www.janes.com/article/55459/u...-syria-strikes
https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com...program-03187/
http://www.janes.com/article/55895/u...tirement-delay
What's this all mean?
1) Improved birds (2 I think.) will need to be added.
2) Current plans take the A-10 out to at least 2021. Though ongoing life cycle issues will keep the A-10 flying/viable through 2028.
And since Don can reasonably understand "Conklinese" something I've very recently touched on, has left me with a "loss of appetite" and you might be "serving dinner without me" but I'll let you know via PM as the situation has been developing for sometime and is ongoing into the foreseeable near term future.
Regards,
Pat
