the attain common fleet initiative will keep the iconic jet relevant
and lethal over modern battlefields the attend warthog ground attack jet
already in the process of receiving new wings is also set for a series of improvements
including new weapons cockpit upgrades and helmet mounted controls
the improvements as described by combat aircraft are part of the attend common fleet initiative
the improvements include standoff bombs that destroy enemy air defense systems at a distance
allowing the warthog to close and destroy enemy tanks up close
the initiative will keep the warthog relevant as a tank killing ground attack aircraft
even as the air defenses of high-tech adversaries become deadlier than ever
one of the most important is the incorporation of the gbu-39 small diameter bomb the gbu-39 is
a 250-pound high explosive bomb fitted with wings and a guidance system allowing it to
engage individual ground targets at ranges up to 40 miles according to combat aircraft the warthog
can carry up to 18 gbu 39s theoretically giving it the ability to engage up to 18 different targets
upgraded attempts coupled with unmanned aerial vehicles
could work together to suppress enemy air defenses and bomb tank columns uav could
be used to locate enemy air defenses such as russian torque and panzer s1 short range
air defense weapons before being shot down passing on the coordinates of those weapons to attend cruz
the attends in turn could then unleash gpu-39s against those weapons before
closing and engaging enemy tanks and armored vehicles with agm-65 maverick missiles
high explosive bombs and of course the gau-8 slash avenger 30 millimeter 7-barreled gatling gun
additional attention improvements will include the improvements for the scorpion
helmet mounted display an augmented reality system that superimposes targets on the ground
over the attend pilot's field of view this allows the 10 pilots to identify and engage
enemy forces on the ground as quickly as possible minimizing their exposure to enemy fire
the initiative could also include link 16 data thanks for sharing information with
friendly forces and the synthetic aperture radar pot capable of scanning the ground and
identifying tanks and armored vehicles at night and through adverse weather such as clouds or fog
just six years ago the u.s air force was on the verge of calling its entire fleet of a 10
thunderbolt 2 better known as warthogs in 2014 the then usaf chief of staff gen mark welsh said the
air force had to retire the attend completely it was to make substantial cuts to its budgets and
that it required freed up funding and manpower to be channeled into the stand-up of new f-35 units
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