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You've just complicated your logistics and added a whole bunch of personnel requirements for the Army to have any significant amount of planes for use in combat. Not to mention, the Army has helicopters to perform this exact same function already.


Would there be a rise in total complexity, or 'simply' a shuffling of it? There are about a dozen A-10 squadrons:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunde...

If their command responsibility was transfered to the Army instead of the USAF, how much would change on the logistical back-end?

Curious:

Are helicopters and CAS/A-10 planes effective in the same situations? How much overlap is there?


Well for one, the Army would have to start worrying about bases with full landing strips, pilot training, the bureaucracy and command structure that would be required to run the squadrons. They would need mechanics that know how to repair them, people that know how to arm and refuel them.

You end up doing a good amount of work just to try and protect a very expensive plane from Air Force politics. Ideally, the Air Force would just settle on an inexpensive prop plane that could perform the same missions as the A-10 at much less of the cost.

I'm not knowledgeable on how effective a helicopter is for CAS.




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