Los F-35 y A-10 de la Fuerza A\u00e9rea de los EE. UU. Participaron recientemente en un vuelo para determinar qu\u00e9 armaz\u00f3n de avi\u00f3n es superior para proporcionar apoyo a\u00e9reo cercano, y existe una creciente ansiedad de que la competencia se haya distorsionado para hacer que el F-35 se vea mejor en este tipo de misi\u00f3n de lo que realmente es. Los cr\u00edticos son esc\u00e9pticos porque la Fuerza A\u00e9rea ha ocultado los ejercicios de revisi\u00f3n p\u00fablica y, seg\u00fan un informe del mi\u00e9rcoles de Popular Mechanics, la rama de servicios “tambi\u00e9n est\u00e1 sesgando las pruebas para asegurar que el nuevo F-35 se presente de la mejor manera posible. “<\/p>\n
![\"A-10's](\"https:\/\/cdn3.img.sputniknews.com\/images\/106152\/48\/1061524839.jpg\")
Critics are skeptical because the Air Force has hidden the exercises from\u00a0public review and, according to\u00a0a Wednesday report by\u00a0Popular Mechanics, the service branch is “also heavily skewing the testing to\u00a0ensure the new F-35 is presented in\u00a0the best possible light.”<\/p>\n
The F-35A’s intended fate, to\u00a0replace the F-16 Viper as\u00a0the US Air Force’s de facto fighter-bomber, has not been contested since\u00a0the aircraft has gone into\u00a0production, with\u00a0service officials doubling down\u00a0on the promise of\u00a0the F-35 despite\u00a0high costs, missed deadlines and a constant stream of\u00a0technical difficulties. The F-35A and F-16 are both single-engine, single-seat aircraft as\u00a0well, making the replacement of\u00a0the F-16 fleet with\u00a0the Air Force’s F-35As a logical one.<\/p>\n
What has been controversial, though, is the argument that the F-35 can replace the A-10 Warthog for\u00a0close air support. As Popular Mechanics notes, close air support missions require a plane to\u00a0function basically as\u00a0a flying form of\u00a0artillery, something the A-10 is ideally suited for\u00a0with its 20-foot-long Gatling-type autocannon jutting out\u00a0beneath the aircraft’s nose.<\/p>\n
The stealthy, high-tech F-35 may have a lot of\u00a0new capabilities that other US Air Force aircraft lack, but\u00a0it is certainly not tailored to\u00a0what the A-10 does when it slowly roams through\u00a0airspace near\u00a0battlefields, remaining stationed and ready for\u00a0combat for\u00a0prolonged periods.<\/p>\n
All in\u00a0all, the test was essentially a sham, according to\u00a0the watchdog, which said: “Rather than\u00a0telling us whether or not the F-35 can actually provide the kind of\u00a0close support our ground forces need to\u00a0survive and prevail, this grossly inadequate test has been designed to\u00a0mislead.”<\/p>\n
US Air Force officials and senior civilian service leaders can “undoubtedly” be expected to\u00a0walk into\u00a0the halls of\u00a0power on\u00a0Capitol Hill and proclaim, results in\u00a0hand, that the “F-35 performed brilliantly, thus justifying bigger buys [of F-35 aircraft] and getting rid of\u00a0the A-10 sooner,” according to\u00a0the report from\u00a0POGO, which was produced by\u00a0Dan Grazier, the watchdog’s Jack Shanahan Military Fellow.<\/p>\n