A-10 C.A.S Mission in Iraq

Video Title :	A-10 C.A.S Mission in Iraq
Description :	The A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force to provide close air support (CAS) of ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles, and other ground targets, also providing a limited air interdiction role. It is the first U.S. Air Force aircraft designed exclusively for CAS. The A-10's official name comes from the P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II, a fighter that was particularly effective at the CAS mission. However, the A-10 is more commonly known by its nickname Warthog or simply Hog. As a secondary mission, it provides airborne forward air control, guiding other aircraft against ground targets. In the USAF inventory, the airframe is designated OA-10 when used primarily in a forward air control role.The A-10 was developed in response to the increasing vulnerability of ground attack-planes to ground air defenses, as evidenced by the large number that were shot down by small arms fire, surface-to-air missiles, and low level anti-aircraft gunfire during the Vietnam War. This indicated the need for a specialized, heavily armored aircraft with long loiter time and large ordnance load, much like the Ilyushin Il-2 or A-1 Skyraider.The A-10 has superior maneuverability at low speeds and altitude, thanks to straight, wide wings with downturned "droop" wing tips. These also allow short takeoffs and landings, permitting operations from rugged, forward airfields near front lines. The aircraft can loiter for extended periods of time and operate under 1,000 feet (300 m) ceilings with 1.5-mile (2.4 km) visibility. It typically flies at a relatively slow speed of 180 knots (200 mph or 320 km/h), which makes it a much better candidate for the ground-attack role than fast fighter-bombers, which often have difficulty targeting small and slow-moving targets. Engine exhaust passes over the aircraft's horizontal stabilizer and between the twin tails, decreasing the A-10's infrared signature and lowering the likelihood that the aircraft can be targeted by heatseeking missiles. The placement of the engines partially shields them from anti-aircraft fire behind the wings and tail. The A-10 has integrally machined skin panels. Because the stringers are integral with the skin there are no join or seal problems. These panels, built using computer controlled machining, reduce the man-hours and hence the cost of manufacture. The tests of war have shown that this type of panel is more battle-hardy. The skin is not load-bearing, so damaged skin sections can be easily replaced in the field, with makeshift materials if necessary.The first unit to receive the A-10 Thunderbolt II was the 355th Tactical Training Wing, based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona in March 1976. The A-10 saw combat for the first time during the Gulf War in 1991, destroying more than 1,000 Iraqi tanks, 2,000 military vehicles, and 1,200 artillery pieces. A-10s shot down two Iraqi helicopters with the GAU-8 gun.A-10s again saw service in the 1999 Kosovo War, in the later stages of the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in March 2002 and in the 2003 Iraq war. In Afghanistan the A-10 is based at Bagram. On 30 April 2003, USCENTAF issued Operation Iraqi Freedom: By the Numbers, a declassified report about the aerial campaign in the conflict. Sixty A-10s were deployed in Iraq; one was shot down near Baghdad International Airport by Iraqi fire late in the campaign. Of the A-10s deployed, 47 were Air National Guard Aircraft, and 12 were from the Air Force Reserve. The A-10 had a mission capable rate of 85% in the war, and fired 311,597 rounds of 30 mm ammunition. The A-10 also flew 32 missions in which the aircraft dropped propaganda leaflets over Iraq.
Views :	35464
Rating :	3.86
Keywords, Tags :	Fairchild republic A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support jet aircraft usaf iraq war afghanistan boeing military aviation
Video Length :	2 : 40

Comments :

what the hell was that? i was waiting to see somthing get torn up.

music is good war isent fun in such points your very consentrated and stresd

That was GREAT except for the music. That music is sad - as if something terrible was about to happen to the good guys. Nothing bad happened - it was a great mission. You should have chosen NO music, or more action-oriented music.

Rowdy

Los E U planearon lo de las torres para atacar Iraq, alguien sabe o ha visto videos de lo que el mismo dia segun paso en la casa blanca o el pentagono y que tal que en las torres murieron puros latinos y a los norteamericanos se le hiso tarde, Bush no tiene Madre es un hijo de.....

You no tienes Madre either, kilahuea9 - man, somebody blows up a train station and you weenies surrendered. Hoping that they'll stop at the Ebro again this time?

Si, no tengo madre y me cago en la tuya

Music is Leave no man behind by Hans Zimmer from the Black Hawk Down soundtrack

The music gets two thumbs down...

Was the pilot finding targets using another instrument? Because in that footage only really showed alot of fog with altitude, speed, heading and pitch on the HUD. Quite a feat to avoid hitting the ground making turns like that with such poor visibility... heck, thats quite a feat just to make turns like that, I start feeling nauseas pulling 1.5 to 2 g turns flying in small passenger aircraft.