F-35 and A-10 to Square Off in Close Air Support Tests
F-35 and A-10 to Square Off in Close Air Support Tests by Brendan McGarry, DoD Buzz
The Defense Department plans to test the fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet against the Cold War-era A-10 attack aircraft in close air support tests, according to multiple news reports.
During a conference last week in Arlington, Virginia, Curt Cook, an air warfare specialist for the Pentagon’s office of the director of operational test and evaluation said the so-called comparative tests will take place in late 2017 or 2018, according to Politico and Defense Daily.
As Valerie Insinna, a reporter for the trade publication Defense Daily, has reported, the office wants to better assess limitations of the existing fifth-generation stealth fighter made by Lockheed Martin Corp…
