Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

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The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970's.

The only United States Air Force aircraft designed solely for close air support of ground forces, the A-10 was built to attack tanks, armoured vehicles, and other ground targets with limited air defences.

The A-10 was designed around the GAU-8 Avenger, a 30 mm rotary cannon that is the air plane's primary armament and the heaviest such automatic cannon mounted on an aircraft.
The A-10's airframe was designed for survivability, with measures such as 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of titanium armour[4] for protection of the cockpit and aircraft systems that enables the aircraft to continue flying after taking significant damage.

The A-10A single-seat variant was the only version built, though one A-10A was converted to the A-10B twin-seat version. In 2005, a program was begun to upgrade A-10A aircraft to the A-10C configuration.

The A-10's official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II, a fighter that was particularly effective at close air support.

The A-10 is more commonly known by its nicknames "Warthog" or "Hog". It also has a secondary mission, where it provides airborne forward air control, directing other aircraft in attacks on ground targets.

Aircraft used primarily in this role are designated OA-10. With a variety of upgrades and wing replacements, the A-10's service life may be extended to 2028.

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m)
• Wingspan: 57 ft 6 in (17.53 m)
• Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
• Wing area: 506 ft² (47.0 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 6716root, NACA 6713 tip
• Empty weight:24,959 lb (11,321 kg)
• Loaded weight:30,384 lb (13,782 kg)

CAS mission: 47,094 lb (21,361 kg)

Anti-armour mission: 42,071 lb (19,083 kg)

• Max. takeoff weight:50,000 lb (23,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 ×General Electric TF34-GE-100A turbofans, 9,065 lbf (40.32 kN) each

Performance

• Never exceed speed:450 knots (518 mph,[142]833 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) with 18 Mk 82 bombs[143]
• Maximum speed:381 knots (439 mph, 706 km/h) at sea level, clean[142]
• Cruise speed: 300 knots (340 mph, 560 km/h)
• Stall speed: 120 knots (138 mph, 220 km/h) [144]
• Combat radius:
• CAS mission: 250 nmi (288 mi, 460 km) at 1.88 hour loiter at 5,000 ft (1,500 m), 10 min combat
• Anti-armor mission: 252 nmi (290 mi, 467 km), 40 nmi (45 mi, 75 km)) sea-level penetration and exit, 30 min combat
• Ferry range: 2,240 nmi (2,580 mi, 4,150 km) with 50 knot (55 mph, 90 km/h) headwinds, 20 minutes reserve
• Service ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,700 m)
• Rate of climb: 6,000 ft/min (30 m/s)
• Wing loading: 99 lb/ft² (482 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.36

Armament

• Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling cannon with 1,174 rounds (Capacity 1,350)
• Hardpoints: 11 (8× under-wing and 3× under-fuselage pylon stations) with a capacity of 16,000 lb (7,260 kg) and provisions to carry combinations of:
• Rockets:
• 4× LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19× / 7× Hydra 70 mm rockets, respectively)
• 4× LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19× CRV7 70 mm rockets)
• 6× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× 127 mm (5.0 in) Zuni rockets)
• Missiles:
• 2× AIM-9 Sidewinders air-to-air missiles for self-defense
• 6× AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles
• Bombs:
• Mark 80 series of unguided iron bombs or
• Mk 77 incendiary bombs or
• BLU-1, BLU-27/B Rockeye II, Mk20, BL-755[145] and CBU-52/58/71/87/89/97 cluster bombs or
• Paveway series of Laser-guided bombs or
• Joint Direct Attack Munition (A-10C)[146] or
• Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (A-10C)
• Other:
• SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys and chaff dispenser pod or
• AN/ALQ-131 or AN/ALQ-184 ECM pods or
• Lockheed Martin Sniper XR or LITENING targeting pods (A-10C) or
• 2× 600 US gallon Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for increased range/loitering time.

Avionics

• AN/AAS-35(V) Pave Penny laser tracker pod[147] (mounted beneath right side of cockpit) for use with Paveway LGBs
• Head-up display (HUD) for improved technical flying and air-to-ground support.[148]