# REDIRECT Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

* 1988 – A United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing 5 people and injuring 50 others.

* End of replacement of A-10 Thunderbolt and F-16 Fighting Falcon fleets with F-35 Lightning II.

The 355 FW and various tenant units located on base provide A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support ; OA-10 forward air controllers ; air liaison officers ; EC-130 command, control and communications warfare ; air control radar ; combat search and rescue ; and combat support forces to unified commanders.

The team's primary mission is to encourage retention and recruitment by showcasing the Air Force's premier fighter / attack aircraft, the rugged and dependable A-10 Thunderbolt II.

It was also that year the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing accepted the first A-10 Thunderbolt II.

# REDIRECT Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

An A-10 Thunderbolt II | A-10C Thunderbolt II, piloted by the 40th Flight Test Squadron, flies over what's left of a target that was successfully hit by a Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition drop on the Eglin range.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II | A-10 Thunderbolt fires an AGM-65 Maverick missile over the Eglin range during a Combat Hammer Air-to-Ground Weapons System Evaluation Program ( WSEP ) mission, which are conducted by Eglin's 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron ( FWS ).

Hurlburt's nephew was Captain Craig D. Button ( noted for his mysterious flight and crash of an A-10 Thunderbolt on 2 April 1997 ).

The 49 FTS and 435 FTS conducted an advanced pilot training and the Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals ( IFF ) course for recently winged USAF Navigator / Combat Systems Officers en route to Weapons System Officer ( WSO ) assignments in the F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft and recently winged pilots en route to the F-22 Raptor, F-15C / D Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and A-10 Thunderbolt II.

The 347th Rescue Group and 563d Rescue Group remained under the 23d Wing, and the 23d Fighter Group was reassigned to Moody from Pope AFB, North Carolina with two A-10 Thunderbolt II Squadrons.

Other aircraft assigned to Whiteman include the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack fighter ; the T-38 Talon jet trainer, and the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

* 442nd Operations Group ( Tail Code: KC ) A-10 Thunderbolt II

* 76th Fighter Squadron ( Tail Code: FT ) A-10 Thunderbolt II

The 442nd, an Air Force Reserve Command unit operating the A-10 Thunderbolt II was previously assigned to Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri, transferring to Whiteman after the closure of Richards-Gebaur.

These two 27th FW squadrons were the first F-16 unit to replace Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II units performing close air support.

Available vehicles include wheeled vehicles ( such as jeeps and trucks ), patrol boats, tanks and APCs, helicopters and even fixed-wing aircraft such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II.

* Sam Nichols-A Black Hawk pilot who is called on to fly helicopter gunships, and eventually an A-10 Thunderbolt.

Boyd's acolytes were also largely responsible for developing the Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II or " Warthog " ground-support aircraft, though Boyd himself had little sympathy of the " air-to-mud " assignment.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II

Originally known as the Seversky Aircraft Company, the company was responsible for the design and production of many important military aircraft, including its most famous product, World War II's P-47 Thunderbolt fighter, the F-84 Thunderjet and F-105 Thunderchief jet fighters, as well as the A-10 Thunderbolt II close-support aircraft.

As the war progressed, the term began to encompass all forms of destroying a target ( such as a T-72 tank ) with an overly capable weapon ( such as an A-10 Thunderbolt II's GAU-8 Avenger cannon, at a cyclic rate of 3, 900 rounds-per-minute ).

The mission of the 23d Wing is to organize, train and employ combat-ready A-10, HC-130P / N Combat King and HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft and flight crews, as well as pararescuemen and force protection assets.

The flying organizations within Tenth Air Force include fighter units equipped with the F-16 ( Fighting Falcon ) and A-10 ( Thunderbolt II ); fighter associate program detachments equipped with the F-15 ( Eagle ) and F-16 ; associate flying training units equipped with the F-22 ( Raptor ); associate units flying Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ; air rescue units equipped with the HC-130 ( Hercules ) and the HH-60 ( Pave Hawk ) helicopter ; a bomb wing equipped with the B-52 ( Stratofortress ); an airborne warning and control associate unit equipped with the E-3 ( Sentry ); and a special operations unit equipped with the MC-130E ( Combat Talon ).

The Pave Penny pod was used by USAF A-7D Corsair II aircraft, fuselage-mounted beneath the engine intake, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II, mounted on an external pylon designed specifically for the pod ( see photo top right ).

This includes the latest, most advanced aircraft in the Air Force inventory, such as the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules, F-16 Fighting Falcon, HH-60 Pave Hawk, KC-135 Stratotanker, WC-130J Hercules (" Hurricane Hunter "), MC-130 Combat Talon, MC-130P Combat Shadow, HC-130P Hercules and A-10 / OA-10 Thunderbolt II.

Although the role of the ground attack aircraft significantly diminished after the Korean War, it re-emerged during the Vietnam War, and in the recognition of this, the US Air Force authorised the design and production of what was later to become the A-10 dedicated anti-armour and ground-attack aircraft of the Cold War.

Their embedded Air Force Combat Controller coordinated with an Air Force A-10 and destroyed the vehicle.

The term " fighter " is also sometimes applied to aircraft that have virtually no air-air capability – for example the A-10 ground-attack aircraft is operated by USAF " Fighter " squadrons.

( e. g. Junkers Stuka, A-10, Il-2, J-22 Orao, AH-64 and Su-25 ).

The wing's missions are to train A-10 and OA-10 pilots and to provide A-10 and OA-10 close support and forward air control to ground forces worldwide.

: consists of six squadrons and over 450 personnel employing 82 A-10 aircraft and an AN / TPS-75 radar system.

Performing at more than 30 air shows annually before 15 million spectators worldwide, the A-10 Demo Team provides insight about Air Combat Command and the United States Air Force.

: Supports eight flying squadrons comprising 82 A-10, 14 EC-130, 8 HH-60, and 6 HC-130 combat-ready aircraft with over 1, 700 assigned personnel.

Since 1979, D-M has been the training location for pilots in the A-10 ; the base was redesignated the 355th Tactical Training Wing on 1 September 1979.

The AD advised Air Force component commanders and land forces on A-10 aircraft tactics, training, employment and readiness, and subordinate units participated in exercises such as Red Flag and Celtic Echo.

The 23rd TASS became the Air Force's first O / A-10 squadron in 1988, providing heavily armed airborne forward air control ( FAC ) capability for the first time.

In the 1990s, the 355 TTW continued to train A-10 crews for assignments to units in the United States, England, and Korea.

" Static air-and spacecraft displays on the Academy grounds include an F-4, F-15, F-16 and F-105 on the Terrazzo ; a B-52 by the North Gate ; a T-38 and A-10 at the airfield ; an F-100 by the preparatory school ; a SV-5J lifting body next to the aeronautics laboratory ; and a Minuteman III missile in front of the Fieldhouse.

The Atlantic 10 Conference ( A-10 ) is a college athletic conference which operates mostly on the United States ' eastern seaboard.

Virginia Commonwealth and Butler joined the A-10 on July 1, 2012.

From 1997 through 2006, the league also operated a football conference ; during that period, more than 20 schools were participating in A-10 competition in at least one sport.

Those weapon platforms, as well as the F-15, F-16, A-10, and Los Angeles nuclear submarine were all programs started by the Laird Pentagon.