A-10 Thunderbolt II

The A-10 has superior maneuverability at low speeds and altitude, thanks to straight, wide wings with downturned wingtips. These also allow short takeoffs and landings, permitting operations from rugged, forward airfields near front lines. The plane can loiter for extended periods of time and operate under 1,000 feet (300 m) ceilings with 1.5-mile (2.4 km) visibility. It typically flies at a relatively slow speed of 180 knots (200 mph or 320 km/h), which makes it a much better candidate for the ground-attack role than fast fighter-bombers, which often have difficulty targeting small and slow-moving targets.

Specifications (A-10 Thunderbolt II)

Data from The Great Book of Modern Warplanes^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m)
• Wingspan: 57 ft 6 in (17.53 m)
• Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
• Wing area: 506 ft² (47.0 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 6716 root, NACA 6713 tip
• Empty weight: 24,959 lb (11,321 kg)
• Loaded weight:
  
  • Standard: 30,384 lb (13,782 kg)
  • On CAS mission: 47,094 lb (21,361 kg)
  • On anti-armor mission: 42,071 lb (19,083 kg))
• Max takeoff weight: 50,000 lb (23,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× General Electric TF34-GE-100A turbofans, 9,065 lbf (40.32 kN) each

Performance

• Never exceed speed: 450 knots (520 mph, 830 km/h)
• Maximum speed: 380 knots (438 mph, 704 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) with 6 Mk 82 bombs
• Cruise speed: 300 knots (340 mph, 560 km/h)
• Combat radius:
  
  • On CAS mission: 250 nm (290 mi, 460 km) at 1.88 hour single-engine loiter at 5,000 ft (1,500 m), 10 min combat
  • On anti-armor mission: 252 nm (166 mi, 267 km), 40 nm (45 mi, 75 km) sea-level penetration and exit, 30 min combat
• Ferry range: 2,240 nm (2,580 mi, 4,150 km) with 50 knot (55 mph, 90 km/h) headwinds, 20 minutes reserve
• Service ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,700 m)
• Rate of climb: 6,000 ft/min (30 m/s)
• Wing loading: 99 lb/ft² (482 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.36

Armament

• Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) GAU-8/A Avenger gatling gun with 1,350 rounds
• Hardpoints: 8× underwing and 3× under-fuselage pylon stations holding up to 16,000 lb (7,200 kg) and accommodating:
  • Mark 82, Mark 83, and Mark 84 general-purpose bombs or
  • Mk 77 incendiary bombs or
  • BLU-1, BLU-27/B Rockeye II, BL755 and CBU-52/58/71/87/89/97 cluster bombs or
  • GBU-10 Paveway II, GBU-12 Paveway II, GBU-16 Paveway II and GBU-24 Paveway III laser-guided bombs or
  • AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles or
  • LAU-68 Hydra 70 mm (2.76 in) and 127 mm (5.0 in) rocket pods or
  • Illumination flares, ECM and chaff pods or
  • ALQ-131 ECM pod

Flight Simulations

The A-10 has been featured in several flight sims: A-10 Tank Killer (1989/90), A-10 Attack! (1995), A-10 Cuba! (1996), Silent Thunder: A-10 Tank Killer II (1996), and Lock On: Modern Air Combat (2003).