The alarm bounces up to the coalition command of the coalition that in the area has a patrol A-10 receiving the order to intervene. The Thunderbolt "crushed ISIS terrorists like cockroaches on Iraqi desert plains."
Iraqi News, a few hours ago, has opened its own Tg with this episode, still unpublished in the West. The protagonist is the monstrous and immense A-10 Thunderbolt II, the airplane equipped with the most powerful airborne tactical weapon on the planet.
The Demon 's Wrath
The contact took place last week. A small team formed by soldiers loyal to the Iraqi regime, tries a rift near Mosul, a zone controlled by the militia of Isis. The goal of the mission is unknown, but for the small team, things get worse right away. Their position is immediately discovered and men can only pretend to be in a fortune haven. The vehicles, left a few miles away, are their only salvation, but every escape route is precluded. The battle soon becomes fierce. Too many Islamic militias to fight while the ammunition begins to fall short.
The fate, for the small Iraqi training seems to be marked: the soldiers can only talk about the imminent breakthrough of the defensive perimeter, their ultimate position, and the destruction of the team. If they had fallen into the enemy, they would not be back home. Allied air command, meanwhile, remotely monitors the situation from a patrol Predator. Failure to send other help from the ground, but maybe there is a solution.
A few kilometers away is what ISIS terrorists are beginning to call the "Demon": the A-10 Thunderbolt II, the best aircraft ever built for Close Air Support. The pilot receives the call from the allied strategic command and accepts the mission. He'll have to act alone - four more A-10s are on their way, but it will take a few minutes. The hunt was not meant to be fast. The pilot was authorized to use all weapons in his possession and to empty his 1350 rounds 30mm magazine. A few seconds later, all hell breaks loose.
The first burst of the seven-barreled rotating cannon GAU-8 Avenger (seven seconds of welcome) upsets the terrorists. The 30 mm cannon of the A-10 is unique in its kind. Check from the nose of the aircraft that is usually painted with the face of some ferocious beasts that growl. Against Isis, many have repainted their faces by adopting the image of an infernal demon.
When the cannon begins to spit fire, it emits a flame and a particular sound: "It is as if the sky ripped." And if the target were in a last-generation tank, the armor would fold like a cardboard. The "Warthog" begins to take some ground-breaking steps, sowing death and destruction.
Terrorists respond to fire, but their bullets do not even scratch the titanium surrounding the sensitive parts of the aircraft. Fundamentalists also launch four Strela-2 missiles, but none of them reach the 'Demon', which continues to hammer them unceasingly. The ISIS terrorists were not only forced to retreat, but in their escape they also left the fallen on the ground. The small Iraqi team has returned home healthy and saves. For A-10 it was just another mission.
For Iraqi News: "The A-10 or the Demons, as they call them, are death from the sky."
The A-10 deployed to Iraq have made the 11% of the total amount of stakes against Isis. These data, however, should be seen considering that the A-10 were deployed in November, three months after the start of allied bombings.
According to a Pentagon report, "The A-10 terrorizes the enemy, it is the only weapon system that can reach it with a minimum warning."
Airplanes that have reached Iraq in the last decade of November are part of the 163 ° Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. The unit is also known as "Blacksnakes".
But why was an aircraft designed in the 70 years deployed against the terrorists of Isis?
Simple. The A-10 was designed to survive and pour a hell of fire on the enemy.
Close Air Support
Tactical support is carried out by aircraft with strong abilities to suppress enemy anti-aircraft defenses and to face terrible enemy forces close to those friendly. These missions must necessarily be carried out by robust, very low-powered aircraft, capable of pouring enormous firepower, collecting enemy shots, and returning to the base even if heavily damaged. Even today, since the first flight in the 1976, from A-10: a monstrous machine. In the forecasts, the F-35 would have to replace it, giving Fairchild a well-deserved retirement. The latter, however, has been extended since 1990, when the needs turned the A-10 from close to retirement.
The story of close-wing aircraft should reflect. In fact, the role of tactical support has almost always been carried out by aircraft considered obsolete, slow and not in line with the times. Just think about the Douglas A-1 Skyrider, an aircraft entered into service in the 1947 and retired in the 1968. It was slow and obsolete, but very robust. He could collect hundreds of hits from the enemy infantry, be stationed for hours on the operational area, and carry an impressive arsenal through its fourteen sub-wing pylons. It was the perfect aircraft. Same story for the A-10: repeatedly declared ending, but always invoked in the forefront until Usaf is considered the only aircraft dedicated to Close Air Support.
But why?
Meanwhile the context. The role of support for infantry is a specific task. The hunt flies a few meters from the ground, so it is a shotgun of small and big caliber of the enemy, as well as of the crusader not to mention, finally, the Sam missiles. The aircraft must be able to continue to 'hammer' the enemy by performing multiple passes, stationing for a reasonable period on the operational zone, protecting their forces. Usually, the tactical support aircraft, acts in very critical situations, with predominant enemy infantry and is the first to provide support and the last to leave the area (eg protecting a team in recovery). Essential, then, the armor of the aircraft. In the near plane support, where asymmetric combat reaches its highest peaks, invisibility (to radar), being stealth, holding the most sophisticated avionics, does not count almost anything, considering that one can fool a missile, but certainly not the 23 mm bullets. And beyond theory, history teaches: the United States has always entrusted airborne aircraft support to obsolete aircraft over the period.
The Demon
The A-10 has been designed with a single purpose: to survive. It is heavily armored, with armored plates to protect the vital parts of the aircraft. The pilot is protected by a bullet-proof roof and is wrapped in a kind of titanium-mounted "bathtub" weighing approximately 600 kg. The A-10 is designed to withstand cannons of 23 mm and against some of 57 mm. It can fly with a damaged and partially destroyed wing, one engine, one rudder, one wing. It can fly with the damaged hydraulic system, thanks to reserve mechanical controls. Its winged edges curved downward, increase hoist at low speeds. The main wheels of the car protrude from the gondolas when it is retracted: a further survival guarantee even when the cart can not be relaxed.
The "Warthog" was designed around the seven GAU-8 Avenger rotating cannon, the most powerful airborne tactical weapon on the planet. It is a gatling type gun of 30 mm with two shooting cadences: 2100 or 4200 shots per minute and can be brought to the maximum cadence in 0,55 seconds. The ammunition tank holds up to 1350 shots. It is capable of destroying a tank almost 7 km away. The A-10 is equipped with ten sub-wing pylons and is one of the heavily armed airplanes of the UPS. It can carry almost 7 thousand and 500 pounds of weapons. It is driven by two TF34 turbochargers that allow it to have a speed of 834 km / h and a range of 460 km. Still, the Air Force is trying to retire the fleet to save money but from the Pentagon they know there is no airplane that can completely replace the "Warthog".
Franco Iacch
(photo: US DoD)
