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the a-10 thunderbolt prime 2 or warthog is one of the most iconic american military planes ever made
the a-10 thunderbolt prime affectionately referred to as the warthog or simply hog was built by the
fairchild republic and has been adopted and deployed in battle with devastating outcomes
exclusively by the united states air force since 1976 the aircraft had its first flight in 1972
and remained in production until 1984. overall more than 700 units of the 810
were built with just 390 units of those still active following in the footsteps
of its predecessor the p-47 thunderbolt the a-10 which was created in the middle of the cold war
also wreaked havoc on enemy tanks armored vehicles as well as aircraft becoming a vital component
of the airland battle strategy developed by the u.s the a-10 is still an active service
and it's also among the most revered military planes for the reasons we've listed here
purposefully designed
the threat posed by the soviet union's large numbers of tanks
led the u.s air force to request an aircraft specifically designed to carry out cs missions
and make enemy armor useless the requirements for the design entail the low-cost aerial unit
capable of attacking enemy troops at low altitudes with high speed weaponry
and survivability these requirements later expanded to include a maximum speed of 450 mph
and an operating speed of 300 mph six proposals were submitted and the fairchild republic was
awarded the contract to make prototypes hence the birth of the a-10 warthog
specifications the a-10 is powered by two identical general electric tf-34ge minus
100 turbofans each engine generates a thrust of 9065 pounds making the plane powerful enough
for takeoff at short distances it has a length of 16.16 meters and a wingspan of 17.42 meters
furthermore a striking feature of the a-10 is the unconventional placement of its engine entail
it was designed that way to thwart enemies with heat-seeking missiles
weapons due to its amazing lethal firepower the warthog can be described as an airplane mounted
on a gun its major weapon is a 30 millimeter gau minus 8 slash avengered gatling gun designed to
spray high explosive incendiary ammo and armor piercing depleted uranium rounds the size of your
bottles on enemy tanks and troops in short bursts the gun is not just powerful but also precise
the a-10 can strike within 40 feet of its target obliterating everything within its scope
precision engagement upgrade
the a10 precision engagement upgrade program is aimed at enhancing the precision of the hogs
targeting capabilities this allowed the a-10 to deploy precision weapons like the wind corrected
munitions dispenser and joint direct attack munition other improvements to the aircraft
include situational awareness data links new 5-inch by 5-inch raytheon technical multi-function
kaka displays digital stores management system and an integrated flight and fire control computer to
assist pilots in the continuous weapon delivery and target pods for precision guided weapons