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The new JT15D-5 turbofan-powered "401 Jet" of Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites in Mojave, Calif is a small, stealthy, single-engine jet variation on the very novel, 30 year-old "Ares" light attack jet. Never having entered production, Ares was actually an acronym, standing for Agile Responsive Effective Support: Experts note that the X401 would have piloted and drone versions, leading to speculation that the pair could work together synergistically in a "loyal wingman" arrangement, possibly with some form of laser or directed energy weapon occupying the weapons bay, partially visible in the landing flare photo below. A 6-minute YouTube vid explains...

A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot flies over Afghanistan after completing aerial refueling operations with a KC-135 Stratotanker on March 12, 2018.DVIDS I recently had the chance to speak on the phone with a US Air Force A-10 pilot serving in Afghanistan, and he told me about how the Warthog's "presence alone scares the enemy into submission." "Lot of times [when] we're overhead, they'll just put their guns down and go away because they know the A-10 is overhead," the pilot, who asked to be called "McGraw," said. "We've heard that for years." "Do you mean that literally...

You can run, but you can’t hide from an A-10 Thunderbolt II and its technological advanced GAU-8 30mm weapon system. U.S. Air Forces Central Command released a un-classified footage of an engagement between an A-10 and what looks to be "a Taliban vehicle fleeing the scene of an attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan." The short video display a light-colored car speeding down a dusty desert road only to be stopped by a hail storm of 30mm rounds from the A-10. Zooming in on the stopped vehicle you can see four basketball-sized holes punched in the top of the vehicle before another...

The much-maligned A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack airplane could prove to be a savior if fighting breaks out with North Korea. However, the US Air Force wants to get rid of the plane, and is not asking for funds to fix the wings on some 100 A-10s, which therefore may end up in the scrap yard.

In order to test potential A-10 Warthog replacements in rugged conditions, the US Air Force has flown Sierra Nevada A-29 Super Tucano and Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine light attack planes from a dirt runway. The planes took off and landed on the uneven dirt airstrip located in the Melrose Air Force Range training area, a part of Cannon Air Force Base, in New Mexico. The whole event, the takeoff as well as the dusty landing, was captured and shared on YouTube by AiirSource on Wednesday, 3 January.

It’s no secret that the U.S. military have plans to replace the A-10 Warthogs in the future. One aircraft that is in the conceptual plan phase is known as the “Machete” designed by Stavatti a Minnesota aerospace start-up company. Stavatti is pushing (fighting for the big budgetcontract) to get their lightweight attack plane idea to the right people. This new lightweight attack aircraft is made from metal foam, this technology is lighter than the A-10’s armor but the material is more efficient at stopping projectiles. There will be two versions of the Machete:-Propeller-driven SM-27-Jet Engine SM-28 Both types are single-seat...

After a routine training run in Alpena County, Michigan in late July, US Air National Guard Capt. Brett DeVries survived the perfect storm of malfunctions to safely land his A-10 Thunderbolt II on its belly without the benefit of landing gear. During a training exercise where A-10 pilots practice dropping inert bombs and ripping the planes' massive gun, DeVries' gun malfunctioned. Moments later, his canopy blew off his plane as he flew along at 375 miles an hour, according to a US Air National Guard write up of the event . The incredible winds smacked DeVries head against his seat,...

When the A-10 Warthog first entered service, its primary job was standing ready to blow up hordes of tanks if the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies ever invaded Western Europe or if a similar major conflict erupted on the Korean Peninsula. Decades later, after years of flying the jets in a broader close air support role, the U.S. Air Force looked into what it would take to rent a fleet of the blunt-nosed attack jets to Colombia, where they would've blasted leftist guerrillas and drug smugglers. In early November 2003, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Randall Schmidt, then...

Not only has the fight not been won, but the Air Force's new arguments sound a lot like the old ones. As more details emerge regarding the U.S. Air Force’s plans for the A-10 warthog in the 2018 fiscal year and beyond, it has become clear that the service’s apparent promise to maintain the entire remaining fleet of hardy attack aircraft was highly conditional and entirely temporary. The details come as the low- and slow flying planes continue to prove their worth in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Sadly, none of this is really surprising. On June...

Air Force leaders have reversed an Obama administration decision on the A-10 attack plane known as the Warthog. The previous administration had decided to retire the aircraft, viewing it as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets. Three years ago the Pentagon proposed scrapping the Warthog fleet as a way of saving $3.5 billion. Congress rejected that idea. Each of the next two years the military tried again, putting off the Warthog's retirement a bit further in the future each time....

Known as the 'flying gun', the A-10 Warthog plane was a hero during Operating Desert Storm – but has since been deemed vulnerable and costly to operate. Now, a Minnesota-based startup has unveiled designs for a new attack plane called the 'Machete' that consists of a new metal foam developed in conjunction with the US Department of Energy. The metal foam is lightweight and strong - and is capable of stopping bullets and other projectiles in much less space than traditional armor, while the plane boasts the same 30mm cannon as the Warthog it could replace.

The A-10 Warthog, a muscular and armored ground attack plane, is an odd vehicle because it was originally designed to attack Soviet tanks in Europe in the event of a third world war. Thankfully, that conflict never occurred. Instead, the Warthog flew in the Persian Gulf War, the Balkans and has spent years taking on lightly-armed insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq — where it performs excellently at the job. The RAND Corporation, a California-based think tank closely tied to the U.S. Air Force, recently compiled statistics on A-10s in Afghanistan, with the goal of studying how they performed and how the Air...

In another positive sign for the beloved A-10, Air Force maintainers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona have outfitted the Warthog with an upgrade for combat search and rescue missions (CSAR). Dubbed the lightweight airborne recovery system, the upgrade helps A-10 pilots "communicate more effectively with individuals on the ground such as downed pilots, pararescuemen and joint terminal attack controllers," according to an Air Force statement. Of all the fixed-wing aircraft in the US Air Force's inventory, no plane carries out CSAR missions like the A-10. CSAR missions jump off with little warning and often involve going deep into...

Alex LockieJanuary 11, 2017 USAF In another positive sign for the beloved A-10, Air Force maintainers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona have outfitted the Warthog with an upgrade for combat search and rescue missions (CSAR). Dubbed the lightweight airborne recovery system, the upgrade helps A-10 pilots "communicate more effectively with individuals on the ground such as downed pilots, pararescuemen and joint terminal attack controllers," according to an Air Force statement. Of all the fixed-wing aircraft in the US Air Force's inventory, no plane carries out CSAR missions like the A-10. CSAR missions jump off with little warning and...

Check the video at this link. John McCain earning his pay at the hearings for phasing out the A-10. "The B1 Bomber will now be used for close air support? This is why we can't take you seriously..."

Meet the tankbuster's mean cousin from Moscow.... However, as the Afghan rebels began to acquire Stinger missiles from the United States, Su-25s began to suffer losses and the Soviet pilots were forced to fly higher to avoid the man-portable surface-to-air missiles. In all, some fifteen Su-25s were shot down in Afghanistan before the Soviet withdrawal.... While it’s fun to admire high-performing fighters like the MiG-29 or F-22 Raptor, the unglamorous Su-25 has so far had a greater impact on a wide range of conflicts. We can draw a few lessons from its recent combat record.

Senior service officials are now exploring “draft requirements” concepts – and evaluating the kind of avionics, engineering, weapons, armor and technical redundancy the aircraft would need, Air Force officials told Scout Warrior. As a result, the Air Force will be looking for the “optimal” type of close-air-support platform by weighing various considerations such as what the differences might be between existing aircraft and future developmental platforms.

If the aircraft loses all of its electronics including its digital displays and targeting systems, the pilot of an A-10 can still fly, drop general purpose bombs and shoot the 30mm cannon, Haden explained. “So when I lose all the computers and the calculations, the targeting pod and the heads up display, you can still point the aircraft using a degraded system at the target and shoot. We are actually trained for that,” he said.

Sarah SicardJune 16, 2016 Since the A-10 Warthog, recently seemingly destined for the scrap yard, is now engaging enemy Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Taliban forces in Afghanistan in the form of a new weapon with a badass name - the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System. Manufactured by BAE Systems, the APKWS is equipped with laser-guided rockets, giving A-10 aircraft in Afghanistan a "deep magazine of high-precision weapons," according to Popular Mechanics. One of the biggest advantages to using this system is the minimal collateral damage left when fired, which is a result of its tiny warhead. In addition,...

Congress to Air Force: You Can't Retire the A-10 Until the F-35 Proves It's Better Legislators want proof the F-35 can take over the aging tank-killer's job Congress threw down the gauntlet at the Air Force on Monday, introducing legislation to mandate keeping the A-10 Thunderbolt II—affectionately known as the Warthog—in service until the service can prove the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter can take over its job. As reported by DefenseNews, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mack Thornberry has introduced legislation to forbid the Air Force from retiring the plane. Thornberry's proposed law would prohibit the Air...