Returning to the Hog - How viable is it in MP?

[elproducto]

Returning to the Hog after a LONG time.  I'd really like to get into some MP at some point, just wondering how viable the jet is in some of the more popular servers?  I really like the idea of clearing out a bunch of SAM's so friendlies can make a strike, stuff like that.

 

 

[razo+r]

If you want to clear SAMs then you are looking for using the wrong airframe for that. The A-10 is more the type of aircraft that comes AFTER the SAM has been disabled. Of course that's if you are trying to use it a tad realistic, noone stops you from doing SEAD with your hog. 

But nonetheless, it's still viable as it always has been.

[elproducto]

Thanks razo+r, clearly I have lots to learn. 

 

Cheers

[BuzzU]

You might like the Viper better to clear SAMS. Hog is perfect for CAS.

[jaylw314]

In public MP, it's problematic--you're slow, so by the time you get somewhere, the situation may be different, and AI air threats can be really annoying.

In squadron MP, it's fantastic.  The most powerful ability in squadron MP is not to destroy things, but to maintain SA for everyone else.

[Yurgon]

I don't fly public MP, but one aspect worth noting is the addition of APKWS laser guided rockets; you can put them on any station that could load unguided rockets before, and typically 1 or 2 of these will take out any IFV or APC from circa 5 nautical miles. So the A-10C II module now packs a lot more punch than the old A-10C did, making it even deadlier on our virtual battlefields.

And then the same is true that was always true of the A-10C: it can carry lots of weapons, has great loiter time, excellent tools to help the pilot gain and maintain SA, intra-flight datalink, lots of radios to talk to other entities, and it doesn't always blow up just because it's been hit by a few rounds (notable exceptions include those darn 57mm shells - even the A-10 isn't immune to those... ).

The downside is it's very slow to get anywhere, and its Air-to-Air-capabilities... let's just say the A-10 prefers airspace that is sanitized by other assets.

[Gasman6]

With the A-10, I find that lighter is better. It's tempting to burden your stations with triple racks of bombs and laser-guided rockets, and pack on heavy, drag-inducing CBUs, and six Mavericks, so on and so forth, but you're only making an already slow airplane slower. Moreover, you're denying yourself one of the advantages of the Hog's survivability: its ability to maneuver. When you're loaded to the gills with standoff weapons and bombs and full gas tanks, you're going to have to jettison all of that the second an enemy airplane gets within firing range so you can hope to survive. And if you're caught off guard by a MANPAD or SAM launch, you're essentially just a flying whale and might as well eject to save yourself the (virtual) trauma of a missile hit.

 

There's nothing more satisfying than going in light, getting the job done with fewer munitions, and having to RTB to refuel/rearm with all stores expended and the gun's ammo counter at or near zero. I find the more laser-guided stuff I carry the better, since a friendly or JTAC on the same objective can also help buddy lase targets for you. So GBU-54s as opposed to -38s, for example, since not everyone is able to pass you an accurate grid reference that you can program for your bombs.

 

The "packing light" advice especially goes for PVP servers, you're just a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae to sweet-toothed enemy jets, don't let them get the best of you!

 

Happy hunting.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Gasman6
Typo correction