"Dunnik" (dunnik)
10/08/2014 at 19:12 • Filed to: PLANEOPOLINK, A-10 WARTHOG, IS, ISLAMIC STATE
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"Dunnik" (dunnik)
10/08/2014 at 19:12 • Filed to: PLANEOPOLINK, A-10 WARTHOG, IS, ISLAMIC STATE | 0
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At this very moment, Islamic State fighters backed by tanks, are trying (and succeeding, its seems) in taking the northern Syrian border town of Kobani (aka Ayn-al-Arab). While the Turkish army looks on from the heights across the border, Kurdish militias are !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in the eastern part of the town, while Allied airstrikes pound IS positions in the west.
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Notably absent over the battlefield - at least to this civilian mind - is the A-10 "Warthog" Thunderbolt II. I doubt this plane needs any introduction. Designed to counter the waves of Soviet tanks expected to pour across Europe during the Cold War, it's one of the finest ground-attack aircraft ever to take flight.
It's been famously said that this was an aircraft designed around a gun, the famous 30mm !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which can fire depelted uranium shells up to 3,900 rounds a minute. It can otherwise carry pretty much anything other US aircraft can carry, but much more of it. It's straight wing configuration gives it excellent lift, giving it excellent "low and slow" capabilities.
IS has several Soviet-era AAA including the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! but the "Warthog" is legendarily durable. In a memorable incident during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, an A-10 suffered significant damage from flak, but despite a damaged engine and loss of hydraulic power, the pilot landed safely.
Wikipedia reports that the USAF 124th Fighter Wing, which flies A-10's, will be re-basing, as scheduled, to the Middle East in September 2014. I wonder if anyone can confirm if this is the case, because I was starting to wonder why the USAF has not deployed these planes in the fight against IS.
Edit: Foxtrot Alpha is way ahead of me on this subject, obviously I missed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
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Gamecat235
> Dunnik
10/08/2014 at 19:14 |
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http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-usafs-much…
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Dunnik
> Gamecat235
10/08/2014 at 19:14 |
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Nevermind, I somehow must have missed that Foxtrot Alpha post!
Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
> Dunnik
10/08/2014 at 19:19 |
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The "Blacksnakes" from the Indiana Air National Guard are deploying to the Middle East. Where they're going, I don't know, nor would I say anything that wasn't officially released to the media.
With Big Blue wanting to retire the Warthog, I assume that's the main reason you haven't seen them fighting ISIS. That and there are no longer any A-10s stationed in USAFE.
orcim
> Dunnik
10/09/2014 at 03:27 |
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It's always amazed me that you'd produce a can when can openers came with wings and could fly in anytime to pop your top.
But that's just me. I'd either be a defeatist surrender monkey or a strategic genius noob as opposed to "internet commentator" in other circumstances.