Hi, everybody! Welcome to the “Tech News” channel! A human being’s constant subconscious
desire to demonstrate their own power is a primitive instinct that can be suppressed,
but never fully overcome. Killing an animal for profit or a fellow tribesman to take their
social status and show one’s superiority is a manifestation of aggression, the tools for
which are weapons. Alas, we’re not so different from our cave-dwelling ancestors after all,
it’s just that the methods for taking another life have become more sophisticated.
Artillery isn’t the only thing capable of raining down pure hell on enemy positions.
Aircraft can launch assaults with greater accuracy, speed, and cold-bloodedness,
and we’re going to get acquainted with some of the most technically advanced of them today.
Attack aircraft, as they are commonly called, are a class of close support aircraft designed
to carry out shelling and bombing of enemy ground forces, armored vehicles, and stationary
objects from a low altitude. They are usually slower and less maneuverable than fighters,
but can carry a large and diverse payload of weaponry. Another one of their distinguishing
features is their ability to fly at low altitudes. The squadrons of biplanes which
were used to target entrenched enemy infantry during World War I can be considered an example
of attack aircraft. As time went on, this type of weaponry had to be modernized and upgraded;
World War II brought with it the need to destroy more protected armored vehicles at close range.
Global rankings of attack aircraft often award the top spot to the ugliest and most controversial,
for which the US Army can label any soldier or officer a traitor for criticizing. No wonder it
bears the nickname "Warthog"; it looks like one and completely violates the conventional wisdom
of what an aircraft should look like. Like most military tech these days, this freak is a child
of the Cold War. The army's need for a reliable universal aircraft with powerful weapons to
destroy enemy equipment and provide close air support was met by the A-10 Thunderbolt II,
a single-seat, well-protected aircraft with two turbojet engines mounted to a bifurcated
tail assembly. Just one of these General Electric engines weighs nearly 1500lbs.
But those aren’t even the most interesting facts about this plane. Half of the Warthog’s fuselage
is taken up by a built-in, seven-barreled, 30mm, Gatling-style autocannon, capable of firing 70
rounds of armor-piercing rounds per second. Imagine an enemy tank after a one-second volley
from this weapon. The raucous crack of this cannon is the last thing an enemy soldier wants to hear
on the battlefield. But the A-10 wouldn't be among the best if it couldn't carry more lethal weapons.
So the underwing arsenal of Thunderbolt consists of 12 precision guided missiles.
If the enemy decides to attack the Warthog in the air, it will have to dodge its tusks - two
AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, which, by the way, can be replaced by two 20mm M61 Vulcan autocannons.
Production of the A-10 was discontinued back in 1984 at around 716 units. The aircraft is
still in service and continues to carry out combat missions, but it will soon be making
way for more modern, versatile machines, like the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
Every hero needs a villain. In our case, it’s the Su-25, a single-seat attack aircraft that was
designed to carry out the exact same tasks as the Warthog. It also got the short end of the stick as
far as nicknames go. NATO calls it the Frogfoot, although in its native Soviet homeland it was
referred to as the Grach. The production time for this aircraft was quite prolonged due to a
number of factors. A competitive selection process between models from various Soviet design bureaus,
the refining of pre-production prototypes, and engine upgrades all dragged on for some time, but
the aircraft ultimately managed to prove itself during the war in Afghanistan. Various Frogfoot
models are still in service with many countries, including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Pilots
consider these war machines to be unkillable, since the Su-25 has repeatedly returned from
combat with a quantity of bullet holes that would have downed any other aircraft. Frogfoots have
ten underwing weapon bays to accommodate a number of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons systems,
including both guided and unguided missiles and bombs for a variety of missions. Also on
board is a double-barreled 30mm cannon with 250 rounds of ammunition. The aircraft is equipped
with an integrated navigation and aiming system, including an ASP-17 artillery and bomb sight.
The nose also houses a laser rangefinder and a Klyon PS target designator. The aircraft has a
top speed of 590mph. The Frogfoot’s flight range is 466 miles, and has takeoff and landing runs of
just 820 yards and 670 yards, respectively. It outperforms the Warthog in a variety of ways,
including weight and speed, but is inferior in payload weight. One interesting feature
of the Su-25 is its welded cockpit, made of 24mm-thick titanium aviation armor.
Many years after the end of World War II, the multi-purpose light attack class of aircraft
was revived in the 80s and 90s and replenished with excellent models from other countries. One
of them is the AMX International, a multipurpose aircraft used for ground attack, interception,
close air support and reconnaissance. The AMX International (better known as the Ghibli) was
the result of a collaboration between two Italian and one Brazilian aviation company. The first
flight of the Italian AMX prototype took place in 1984, and the Brazilian version was introduced a
year later. The main difference between the two aircraft designs was their avionics package. But
their armaments only differed by their main guns: the Italian version was equipped with one 20mm
six-barreled Gatling gun from General Electric, while the Brazilian version was given two 30mm
DEFA cannons. Four bays under the wings, a central bay, and bays at the wingtips gave the Ghibli
plenty of versatility despite its relatively small size. This aircraft can carry up to 8,300
lbs of ammunition, including air-to-ground missiles, free-fall and laser-guided bombs,
and missile containers. It also houses air-to-air missiles on board for self-defense. The AMX has a
top speed of 650mph and can reach an altitude of 8 miles. It has a flight range of about 1,100 miles.
Italy has gifted the European skies with another masterpiece of aircraft engineering - in
collaboration with Germany and Great Britain of course - the Tornado Interdictor/Strike (IDS).
Several other countries looking to replace their obsolete multi-purpose aircraft also expressed
an interest in joining the program, but for one reason or another, including politics,
refused to cooperate. Nevertheless, the first of fifteen experimental aircraft took flight in 1974
in Germany. Test pilots were delighted at the vehicle’s ease of control and maneuverability.
The Tornado is a multi-purpose twin-engine aircraft designed to break through enemy
defenses at low altitudes. This philosophy determined several significant design features.
The variable shape of the wing made it possible to minimize resistance when dashing towards a
well-prepared enemy at low altitude. The Tornado has a tandem cockpit to accommodate a pilot
and a navigator. The attack aircraft can carry most of the munitions in service with NATO,
including various unguided and laser-guided bombs, as well as specialized weapons like anti-personnel
mines and anti-missile projectiles. The Tornado is also capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
In 1979, Britain seriously considered replacing its Polaris submarines with Tornado aircraft
as the main means of transportation for its nuclear arsenal. There are still Interdictors
in service today, but they are undergoing significant improvements and upgrades,
especially to their avionics, to meet the current standards of their class.
Continuing with the theme of "peculiar" attack aircraft, there is one more worth mentioning - the
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. These planes make just as stunning an impression as they did
half a century ago, and are still in service with several countries, including the United States.
The Harrier 2 is an attack aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities,
allowing it to be based on aircraft carriers or camouflaged sites with no long runways. The
first unit of this multipurpose attack aircraft was handed over to the US Marine Corps in 1987.
The Harrier 2 is powered by a single Rolls-Royce thrust vectoring engine.
This attack aircraft is designed to destroy ground targets in conditions of good visibility both day
and night. Despite initial doubts by some experts regarding their use in the early stages
of development, the aircraft still has sufficient maneuverability and speed to conduct air combat,
as well as successfully evade enemy air defense forces even today. For firing at air
and ground targets, the Harrier is equipped with a five-barreled 25mm General Electric autocannon,
and also has two ventral nodes for additional exterior weaponry. Between them is another central
suspension unit for housing bombs, photographic equipment, or a radio countermeasure system. Also
under the wings are six suspended weapons bays for hosting two to four guided air-to-air missiles or
an equal number of guided air-to-surface missiles and a host of other weapons of similar weight.
The aircraft performed well in combat operations during the Anglo-Argentine conflict over the
Falkland Islands in 1982, and then again almost ten years later during the Iraq War. This attack
aircraft is associated with an unusual story as well. In 1987, communication was lost with one of
the units during a scheduled test flight. Later it turned out that almost immediately after takeoff,
a spontaneous triggering of the ejection mechanism for the pilot seat’s parachute.
The plane remained at an altitude of more than 29,000 feet for another 400 miles
before it ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. The pilot, unfortunately, died.
The collective consciousness of humanity, while not yet evolved enough to fully understand the
crudeness of armed conflicts and reject lethal weapons, is already making great strides towards
creating unmanned aerial vehicles, which, no matter how expensive, cannot compare to the
value of a pilot’s life. The next step will be to develop an entirely new skill - the ability
to have meaningful and peaceful dialogue. When that day comes, the five iron birds we
discussed today will be nothing more than the rusty artifacts of humanity’s warring past.