A-10

[Holger Danske]

Nice video about the A-10 Warthog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0iqS-XCmEQ

[harry hackedoff]

A-10 is an awesome bit of kit for sure and the Gal sound is nearly as scary as my first missus farting
The Maverick is a good weapon, too.
Most fighter-ground attack aircraft like to get in, splash the target and thin out rapid. Ground speed at or about 480 kts if they are right down on the deck.
You generally sit there watching them flying the numbers you sent hours ago.
Five minutes before time-on-target I`d warn the team and say where they`d come from and we`d have our own little air-show.
Once the stores were away, it was warp factor six and the sky filled with the roar of afterburners and I`d have me apple flakes and cocoa and get back in me slug.
All fga fast movers do this, in one form or another. It might change if someone had a bit of playtime and wanted me to flash up the laser or the old "visual talk-in"(VTI, er, not to be confused with your VPL, Hypers ) but generally most air strikes are like this. Wham bam thank you Mam and the bad guys don`t even know about it, home in time for tiffin, what.
A-10s are not like that.
A-10s are not in a hurry, it`s what keeps them alive.
Not being in a hurry.
Triple A systems are all geared to fast movers. Radar picks up a fast jet here and the predictor says it will be here so the Triple A guns or SAMs all point here poised ready to shoot.
Except the A-10 isn`t doing five hundred mph in a straight line, it`s just done a hard a starboard and is flying just above stall speed !
Drives the triple a nuts
The main jock and his winger will continuously fly full circles around each other, headed in your general direction as they watch each other`s arse for ground fire.
When they find some, it`s "poke your mission Son, we got us a fuggin smart arse democrat" and off they go to enjoy themselves
The guns shot was always a crowd-pleaser but the weapon which does the most damage is the Mav missile without a doubt. Defeats any armour anywhere.
TV guided and semi autonomous, probable has fire and forget option now, but late eighties there was only one way, flown remotely by the pilot How they managed to chuck the A-10 all over the area while flying the Mav was amazing to watch.
And they never missed.
Not when they flew it as they were meant to do.
Several Blue on Blues with A-10 firing Mavs were all from altitudes where the driver had no clear visual I.D. and that is fundamental to how A-10s are designed to be flown.
I`m a big fan mate, great aircraft but guess how many have been lost to groundfire? Or to other aircraft in combat?
None.
The most survivable airframe ever designed has surpassed it`s expectations. Elmer keeps threatening to bin the old Warthog and then goes back for "one last re-fit" I hope they manage a few more years yet, till they pay them off

[Holger Danske]

They will be around for some years to come.

From www.airforce-technology.com

In June 2007, Boeing was awarded a contract for the A-10 wing replacement program. Boeing will supply 242 replacement wing sets by 2018.

A-10C - PRECISON ENGAGEMENT UPGRADE PROGRAM
The Precision Engagement upgrade program for the A-10 includes enhanced precision target engagement capabilities, which will allow the deployment of precision weapons such as JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) and Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD), as well as enabling an extension of the aircraft's service life to 2028.

Improvements include: hands-on throttle and stick control, two new Raytheon Technical Services 5in x 5in multifunction cockpit displays, Situational Awareness Datalinks (SADL), digital stores management system, Integrated Flight and Fire Control Computer (IFFCC) from BAE Systems Platform Solutions for automated continuously computed weapons delivery, Sniper XR or Litening targeting pods for precision-guided weapons and helmet-mounted sighting system.

"Up to 125 A-10 aircraft are to be upgraded by 2009."Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego is prime contractor for the program. First flight of the upgraded A-10C was in January 2005. A contract for Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of 72 units was awarded in March 2005. The first was delivered to Baltimore Air National Guard in August 2006.

A contract for full-rate production of 107 units was placed in August 2006. The A-10C achieved Initial Operating Capability in August 2007. 75 A-10s have been upgraded by September 2007. The A10C is planned to begin operational deployment in Iraq in autumn 2007. 356 A-10 aircraft are planned to be upgraded by 2011.

[usafmodels]

A10 warthog http://www.airforcemodelworks.com/index ... ucts_id=52 is one of my favorites USAF aircraft, as it is designed for maneuverability at low speeds and low altitudes for accurate weapons delivery, and carries systems and armor to permit it to survive in this environment.

[Skiddywinks]

It is indeed a monster of CAS, only beaten by the AC-130.

Now that thing packs a punch...

But they both have the situations in which they shine, since not one of them is best for all contacts.

[harry hackedoff]

It is indeed a monster of CAS, only beaten by the AC-130.

Not on a daily basis mate.

[wato212]

ah-64 beats both of them hands down. My god words cannot explain how much I love that machine.

[Holger Danske]

Yeah, the ability to hover gives some advancetage over props and jets..