Lethal beasts of USAF!

[Durrak]

I like it too

 

[Jungibaaz]

I like its Gun!

THE GAU-8 AVENGER! a 30 mm round beast

 

[500]

"They" (whoever they are) have been predicting the demise of the A-10, AC-130, and helicopter gunships for decades. It hasn't happened yet. They will see continued use for many years.

Well they are still good in COIN operations like Iraq and Afghanistan.

If an A-10 is so vulnerable to a modern army, then why is every modern army loaded with helicopter gunships... even slower, and more vulnerable than aircraft like the A-10 and Su-25? The simple truth is that they are NOT that vulnerable. It's a dangerous job, but survivable.

Helicopters can hover, jump out, launch missile and go down.

 

[Panther]

I like its Gun!

The 30mm Gatling gun test.

 

[S.U.R.B.]

Plus the turbofan jet engines of the aircraft are very efficient. These permits a long mission loiter time. The heat signature of the engines is also less than that of turbojet engines. This makes them less vulnerable to attack from heat seeking(IR) missiles.The flares it produces just looks like an eye-catcher to missile when compared with the engine exhaust.

 

[Chogy]

"I like your gun..."

"Terminator Salvation" or T3.

At the start of Desert Storm (1991), Iraq had a strong air defense relatively intact, including radar-guided AAA, MANPADS, Crotale, other SAMs. A-10's inflicted huge losses on Iraqi vehicles. They took losses of their own, but overall they were extremely effective. They were engineered to operate in a European theater against Soviet armored divisions, an environment as hostile as can be imagined.

 

[Tayyab1796]

Guys i m wondering is it possible to replenish missiles onto an aircraft during flight , just as fuel is replenished . Maybe a UAV capable of firing and sharing missiles (with other manned fighter jets).

 

[S.U.R.B.]

"I like your gun..."

"Terminator Salvation" or T3.

At the start of Desert Storm (1991), Iraq had a strong air defense relatively intact, including radar-guided AAA, MANPADS, Crotale, other SAMs. A-10's inflicted huge losses on Iraqi vehicles. They took losses of their own, but overall they were extremely effective. They were engineered to operate in a European theater against Soviet armored divisions, an environment as hostile as can be imagined.

Man that's just like suicide...you need rapid rapid maneuvering ,you can't depend that much on pilot's ability with a subsonic plane under his a$$.And if you are unable to jam it ...boom.

BTW read somewhere that the gun of A-10 is that heavy if you pull it out the nose and then fly it the nose will rise of the ground and the plane will fall back onto its tail.

 

[Chogy]

Man that's just like suicide...you need rapid rapid maneuvering ,you can't depend that much on pilot's ability with a subsonic plane under his a$$.And if you are unable to jam it ...boom.

Close air support is ALWAYS subsonic. Maneuverability comes not from speed but more from wing loading. For example, an Extra 300:

This aircraft is infinitely more maneuverable than any combat jet in existence. Unfortunately, it is also infinitely slower, has no armor, caries no weapons.

The A-10's large, "candy-bar" wings gives it excellent agility down low. It has an appropriate mix of armor, firepower, agility.