Posted on 11/21/2007 4:33:45 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
SPANGDAHLEM, Germany – Tracking and pursuing enemy forces on the ground should be easier for A-10 pilots with the 81st Fighter Squadron when they go downrange early next year.
By the time they deploy, leaders hope the unit’s 18 aircraft will be outfitted with new targeting systems. Three already have been installed with six more on the way.
The technology allows pilots to deploy laser-guided munitions, pursue moving targets at night with infrared imaging and stabilize points on the ground while maneuvering. The information is routed from a targeting pod attached under the wing to a monitor in the one-man cockpit. Ground forces also have access to the images coming from the plane.
“It’s like a super-powered binocular,” said 1st Lt. Stephen Bowen, who will be deploying for the first time with the unit. It is still unknown where the squadron will be sent.
But Bowen and the other pilots are learning to use the new systems with caution.
It’s apparently easy to get caught up watching the tracking screen, jokingly referred to as the “drool cup.” So pilots are learning to strike a balance between using the targeting system and their tried-and-true technique of simply looking out the window.
Watching the monitor too much can be dangerous because “it’s like looking through a soda straw,” Bowen said. “It’s a very limited field of vision … In some cases, it’s better not to use it at all.”
The unit just got back to Spangdahlem after a seven-week training mission at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. There they worked with the new targeting technology and participated in two close-air support exercises with the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines, and British forces.
The scenarios allowed the unit the rare opportunity “to integrate with all the different assets,” said Maj. Mark Lambertsen, the unit’s second in command.
Built to operate near the front lines, the A-10 can fly at low air speeds and altitude. It can survive direct hits from armor-piercing and high explosive projectiles up to 23 mm. Pilots are protected by titanium armor that also protects parts of the flight-control system.
Close-air support missions are expected to be the unit’s primary focus downrange, Lambertsen said.
“The toughest part is keeping track of all the moving parts to make sure everyone’s de-conflicted and to maintain situational awareness,” he said.
The key to close-air support is “finding the fine line between trying to support them with air power and to do things fast without messing up,” Lambertsen said. “We can’t afford any mistakes.”
Dang! And just think, how long ago had the Air Force originally intended to retire the Warthog?
Gee, I always thought they already had the edge!
Just finished watching “Transformers” and there is a great scene at the beginning where there battling the scorpion transformer in the desert and they scramble the warthogs. But its the C- 130 with the cannon that does it in.
As aircraft are usually defined by the image of sleek, macho and sexy the Warthog is more than aptly named! Its no wonder those near sighted paperpushers ever allowed this ugly flying cannon to even be built, but it more than definitely gets the job done, and it brings home the pilot. There was news a little while back about these electronic upgrades, who knows maybe there might be a future for it even further, like a railgun?
I wanna see some danged pichurs!!!
I personally believe they should have gone all the way and named it the Buzzard.
I’ll always remember the Baghdad footage from Iraqi Freedom—the was the A-10’s maneuvered looked exactly like a turkey vulture, leisurely circling at low altitude—first standing on one wingtip, then the other, then dropping down to let off a braaaap.
My late father gave me the same advice on my wedding night.
There was also talk of upgrading the engines to get greater than 1:1 thrust to weight ratio to allow vertical climbs. Don’t know where that went. Anybody?
I understand they still suffer birdstrikes from the rear.
I am unsure if an upgrade was included in this upgrade.
Well, they could be, but the A-10 design has always called for converted airliner engines to power it.
It made for a hell of a cheap and reliable ground attack plane.
Enjoy the pics.
I had the pleasure of sitting in the cockpit of one of these beauties a few years back at Davis-Monthan (contractor capacity not pilot.) I asked about a test flight, but sadly there are no two-seater models.
The Warthog: The gift that keeps on giving.
What an extraordinary craft, driven by extraordinary men.
> ... but sadly there are no two-seater models.
One A-10B was built.
http://www.warthogpen.com/naws.html
It’s on static display at Edwards.
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