by Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
(Washington DC) A-10 is now being transformed into a bomb truck. Why? The A-10 Warthog – what some call a ‘flying tank‘ – has already emblazoned itself upon the historical record of warzone performance.
The much-revered aircraft continues to live to fight and fly another day despite ongoing Air Force efforts to retire, divest or phase out the plane.
What Makes the A-10 So Special
Over the course of many decades, the A-10 has proven itself as a beloved protector of maneuvering ground troops facing enemy fire, as it is built with a titanium hull sufficient to withstand large amounts of small arms fire.
The aircraft is engineered with built-in redundancy such that it can continue to operate, fly and attack in the event that much of its electronics or on-board systems are damaged or destroyed by enemy fire.
Most of all, the A-10 is perhaps best known for its weaponry, as it carries a massive arsenal of land and air attack weapons. At the same time, the A-10 is known for its ability to maneuver and fly slowly at lower altitudes firing its cannon at enemy ground troops. Its Close Air Support mission is what has made it famous, yet in more recent years the Air Force has thought of fixed-wing jets such as an F-35 as well suited for the CAS mission as well.
Nonetheless, there is considerable interest in ensuring that the A-10 remains a vital part of the force not only for its CAS capabilities but for its “bomb-truck” like ability to deliver a wide range of massive weapons attacks upon an enemy.
The A-10 carries a full complement of weapons to include Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAM GPS-guided bombs; its arsenal includes GBU 38s, GBU 31s, GBU 54s, Mk 82s, Mk 84s, AGM-65s (Maverick missiles), AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and rockets along with illumination flares, jammer pods and other protective countermeasures.
The aircraft can carry 16,000 pounds of mixed ordnance; eight can fly under the wings and three under-fuselage pylon station, Air Force statements said.
The A-10 uses both “Lightning” and “Sniper” pods engineered with infrared and electro-optical sensors able to find targets for the pilot.
Special Abilities
By virtue of being able to fly at slower speeds of 300, the A-10 can fly beneath the weather at altitudes of 100 feet. This gives pilots the ability to see enemy targets with the naked eye, giving them the ability to drop bombs, fire rockets and open fire with the 30mm cannon near friendly forces.
Unlike other air platforms built for speed, maneuverability, air-to-air dogfighting and air-to-air weapons, the A-10 is engineered explicitly around its gun, a 30mm cannon aligned directly beneath the fuselage. The gun is also called a GAU-8/A Gatling gun.
As far back as 2016, a former A-10 pilot Lt. Col. Ryan Haden, 23rd Fighter Group Deputy, Moody AFB, told me that the 30mm cannon has seven barrels centered the way the aircraft fires, because the firing barrel goes right down the center. Armed with 1,150 rounds, the 30mm cannon is able to fire 70-rounds a second.
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
