jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

While the multi billion dollar F-35 falters, Cessna comes to the rescue.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2014/september/18/combat-caravan

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

tequilacvx Loc: Sarasota, FL

Very interesting. I flew a Cessna 182RG for 20 years. The Caravan was on my wish list as a very durable cargo carrier which could be modified for STOL (short takeoffs and landings. - Webby Webster

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Sounds like it would be good for combat with the STOL feature.

chrisscholbe Loc: Kansas City, MO

In Vietnam we used Cessna SkyMasters for observation.

They carried a pod of smoke rockets and a pod of real rockets.

The smoke to pinpoint targets for the F-4's and the real ones to help out if they could.

machia Loc: NJ

F-35 falters ?
The F-35 is an immensely complex airframe that is having a long shakedown period , not unlike other aircraft dating as far back as the 1920's and even during the First World War .
Some young engineers at Lockheed-Martin thought that through computer aided design and computer
simulation of flight characteristics the shakedown process would be trouble free and speedy . But history shows that no one really knows how an airplane will perform until it hits the air . The F-35 has shown that she can dogfight recently and she is gaining respect by the Air Force and Naval pilots who fly her .
I flew Cessnas for years , the 140 , 150 , 152 and 172 . All extremely reliable aircraft . My favorite though was the Ryan Navion .
The F-35 isn't faltering . People are giving her a bad name and it's pure nonsense !
Good article Jerry , thanks for posting .

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

There is no Cessna aircraft that could act as an air to air fighter aircraft. The aircraft mentioned in the article are only for close air support of ground units or air-ground attack by third world countries that cannot afford more capable aircraft. The US Air Force uses the A-10 aircraft for this role. It is far more capable and survivable in this role than any armed Cessna aircraft. The A-10 will eventually be replaced by the more versatile, multirole F-35.

machia Loc: NJ

In fact it is a very high probability that new A-10's will be built to be augmented by the F-35 and will most likely be transferred to the Army from the USAF . Theater commanders are realizing that the A-10 is not easily replaced , and with the F-35 combination , she becomes even more lethal .