Needs, Effectiveness, and Gap Assessment for Key A-10C Missions
C O R P O R A T I O N Needs, Effectiveness, and Gap Assessment for Key A-10C Missions An Overview of Findings Jeff Hagen, David Blancett, Michael Bohnert, Shuo-Ju Chou, Amado Cordova, Thomas Hamilton, Alexander C. Hou, Sherrill Lingel, Colin Ludwig, Christopher Lynch, Muharrem Mane, Nicholas A. O’Donoughue, Daniel M. Norton, Ravi Rajan, and William Stanley ver the past few years, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Summary has attempted to implement a retirement plan for its 283 A-10C aircraft, whose primary mission To comply with a congressional directive in the O is close air support (CAS). However, Congress has repeat- National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2016 edly prohibited the Air Force from retiring the A-10, leading regarding the capabilities to replace the A-10C aircraft, to an impasse in which the A-10C fleet remains active and RAND Project AIR FORCE analyzed a range of missions deployed overseas but only some of the aircraft have received assigned to the A-10C aircraft: troops-in-contact/close a life extension and no funds have been allocated for future air support (CAS), forward air controller (airborne) upgrades. The effectiveness of the A-10C has not been part (FAC[A]), air interdiction, strike control and reconnais- of this debate; instead, the future ability of the aircraft to sance, and combat search and rescue support (CSAR). perform its missions, the utility of alternative approaches for RAND analyzed the needs that this mission set might accomplishing the A-10C’s mission set, and USAF priorities generate in the next five years and assessed existing for modernization have all become points of dispute.
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