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A-10 Warthogs Fly in Close Formation to Scare Imaginary Foes Away

There are many frightening machines flying in the skies of our world, but few are so fear-inducing as the A-10 Thunderbolt. Born in the Fairchild Republic (now Northrop Grumman) laboratories and introduced in 1972, the thing not only is a killing machine, but makes no attempt in hiding this reality under smooth lines.
A-10 Warthogs with the 25th Fighter Squadron 7 photos
Photo: USAF/Tech. Sgt. Chris Drzazgowski
A-10 ThunderboltA-10 ThunderboltA-10 ThunderboltA-10 ThunderboltA-10 ThunderboltA-10 Thunderbolt II at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska
So ugly is this thing that people like to call it Warthog. And just like the namesake animal, it likes to travel in packs, with the latest outing taking place back in June, during the Red Flag-Alaska 21 exercise that was held in the North American region.

The planes belong to the 25th Fighter Squadron, and we’ve seen them before in photos released by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), at the same Alaska event. This time, we get to see four of them conduct a close formation flight near Eielson Air Force Base.

Even if they are not hunting for active targets, the planes do look as menacing as always, with their pair of General Electric turbofan engines attached to the rear side of the body, weapons dangling under their wings, and the simply monstrous gun sticking out of its nose.

Aside for their iconic shape, that nose gun is what makes these planes so fearsome. We’re talking about the mighty seven-barrel Gatling gun known as the Avenger. The weapon can fire rounds from an altitude of 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) directly at the ground, hitting a target area just 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter and shredding whatever sits in there to bits.

The Thunderbolt can fly at an altitude of 45,000 feet (13,636 meters), and can keep going for up to 800 miles (1,287 km) on a single outing, reaching speeds of 420 mph (676 kph).

You can see the plane in action and hear the amazing sounds it makes in the video attached below.

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Editor's note: Gallery shows various other A-10s.

About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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