SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - A pilots perspective on F-22 and F-35

Max2147 · 03-05-09, 02:39 PM

Of all the Air Force's missions, I think close air support is probably the least suitable to UAV's. You need somebody in the cockpit who can see and react to what's going on below him.

The A-10 is an awesome plane, but I'm not sure it can safely operate in a SAM-infested environment. Against weaker enemies it's brilliant, but I'm not sure it would be effective against a well-equipped enemy who is methodically maintaining a SAM umbrella.

Look at the 1973 Yom Kippur War for a good example of how that works. The Egyptians established a strong SAM umbrella over their ground forces, and methodically moved it forward so it would always cover the front lines. The Israelis tried to wipe out the Egyptian ground forces with close air support like they had in 1967, but they got absolutely mauled by the SAMs. The Israelis only won the war after some of Sharon's raiding parties managed to slip behind the Egyptian front lines and take out the SAM sites.

03-05-09, 02:39 PM	#4
Max2147 Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 714 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Of all the Air Force's missions, I think close air support is probably the least suitable to UAV's. You need somebody in the cockpit who can see and react to what's going on below him. The A-10 is an awesome plane, but I'm not sure it can safely operate in a SAM-infested environment. Against weaker enemies it's brilliant, but I'm not sure it would be effective against a well-equipped enemy who is methodically maintaining a SAM umbrella. Look at the 1973 Yom Kippur War for a good example of how that works. The Egyptians established a strong SAM umbrella over their ground forces, and methodically moved it forward so it would always cover the front lines. The Israelis tried to wipe out the Egyptian ground forces with close air support like they had in 1967, but they got absolutely mauled by the SAMs. The Israelis only won the war after some of Sharon's raiding parties managed to slip behind the Egyptian front lines and take out the SAM sites.