Low level flying, strafing runs, rockets shooting from the cockpit of a U.S. Air Force A-10 Warthog.
This video brings you aboard an A-10 Thunderbolt II (“Warthog” or “Hog” in fighter pilots lingo) from 355th OG (Operations Group) during a training mission from Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
There is a lot of low-level flying (as low as 100 feet AGL), strafing runs with the GAU-8 Avenger, white-phosphorus rockets usage as well as taxi, take-off, pattern activity and landing.
Interestingly, you can even have a quick look at the aircraft kept in storage by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at the “Boneyard” at Davis Monthan AFB, as the A-10C turns of base leg for final approach.
Even if the A-10 is still considered the best CAS (Close Air Support) plane ever designed, and many advocate the use of the Warthog in the war on ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the Pentagon considers its capabilities limited in particular scenarios, such as the Pacific theatre.
Whereas the USAF favoured the retirement of the A-10 to save 3.5 Billion USD for other procurement projects, US House of Representatives voted against the plan to retire the A-10 fleet as part of its fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015).
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H/T Giuliano Ranieri for the heads-up
