Photo: Northrop Grumman
Its official name is A-10 Thunderbolt II, but everyone likes to call it the Warthog. That’s because it is ugly like the namesake animal, but clearly more aggressive than one. And the degree of fright it is capable of projecting on enemy minds is multiplied when these things fly in formation.
The Warthog was born in the hands of a company that is no longer around on its own, but part of Northrop Grumman. It was called Fairchild Republic, and it came up with the aircraft all the way back in 1972.
For all intents and purposes, the A-10 is the single aircraft specifically developed with the goal of being an incredible support for troops on the ground in times of need. Its main weapon is the mighty GAU-8/A Avenger, a hydraulically driven seven-barrel Gatling gun that can shred enemies to pieces.
The Avenger can effectively fire rounds from an altitude of 4,000 feet (1,200 meters), and the precision is astounding: about 80 percent of these rounds can hit an area just 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter from that altitude.
The Warthog packs more than just the Avenger, though. It can be equipped with 16,000 pounds (7.2 metric tons) of bombs, missiles, countermeasure flares, and jammer pods.
The aircraft can fly thanks to its twin General electric turbofan engines at an altitude of 45,000 feet (13,636 meters) and for up to 800 miles (1,287 km) at speeds of 420 mph (676 kph).
The video attached below, published at the end of May by Combat War Footage, shows a pack of three Warthogs flying in formation. We see only two of them, as the pilots of the third are the ones shooting the footage, but they're enough to give us goosebumps.
We are not being provided with any info on when the video was shot, or what unit these airplanes belong to, but that doesn’t make the clip any less spectacular.
For all intents and purposes, the A-10 is the single aircraft specifically developed with the goal of being an incredible support for troops on the ground in times of need. Its main weapon is the mighty GAU-8/A Avenger, a hydraulically driven seven-barrel Gatling gun that can shred enemies to pieces.
The Avenger can effectively fire rounds from an altitude of 4,000 feet (1,200 meters), and the precision is astounding: about 80 percent of these rounds can hit an area just 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter from that altitude.
The Warthog packs more than just the Avenger, though. It can be equipped with 16,000 pounds (7.2 metric tons) of bombs, missiles, countermeasure flares, and jammer pods.
The aircraft can fly thanks to its twin General electric turbofan engines at an altitude of 45,000 feet (13,636 meters) and for up to 800 miles (1,287 km) at speeds of 420 mph (676 kph).
The video attached below, published at the end of May by Combat War Footage, shows a pack of three Warthogs flying in formation. We see only two of them, as the pilots of the third are the ones shooting the footage, but they're enough to give us goosebumps.
We are not being provided with any info on when the video was shot, or what unit these airplanes belong to, but that doesn’t make the clip any less spectacular.
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