But then the tank's unit fires a SAM and the nightmare goes away.
We tried using A-10's on air strikes against Iraqi armor reserves in the Gulf War and quickly stopped that policy because of two blown up A-10's in one mission, and so we restricted the A-10 strikes to enemy units closer to the Saudi border, and to close support once the fighting started.
Thing is, even if the SAM does not hit the A-10, the A-10 is rather distracted by the SAM, and cannot fulfill its mission.