....."There's not much hope for worn out air frames in the overall scheme of things and retooling this magnificent CAS asset is a pipe dream..."
I understand what you're saying but there's the matter of the BUFF.....there are B52's in the air being flown by the grandsons of the early pilots.
A-10's are one of the best airframes ever produced. Sell the bird to the Marines.....hang a tailhook on it.....watch grunt pilots fight to sit in that bathtub.
