A-10 proves it can land pretty much anywhere
Since July 20th, four A-10s from the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron of US Air force have practiced landing at an airfield that that has been decommissioned since 2000, near Nowe Miasto, in Poland. The cracked, crumbling runway is in bad shape from long lack of any maintenance, as the past Polish unit stationed there used helicopters, and conditions at the former Warsaw Pact airfield are poor in general. Not a problem for the A-10, which is nearly immune to FOD (Foreign Object Damage), usually caused by trash or debris being sucked into the engine air intakes during takeoffs and landings, thanks to its engines and their air intakes being mounted far from the surface of the runway.
In addition to its robust structure and tough landing gear, this makes A-10 the perfect aircraft to deploy in such a location.
As the long abandoned airfield had no control tower, lightning or runway markings anymore, the deployment was supported by a Combat Controllers (CCT) team from the 321st Special Tactics Squadron, which …show more content…
However, currently it mostly uses HEI (High explosive incendiary) ammunition for its cannon, as armored targets are rare in the current conflicts US is involved in. In addition, the A-10 can carry seven tons of bombs and missiles. These days the A-10 are often equipped with with smart bombs (GPS and laser guided) and Maverick missiles. It can also carry a targeting pod, enabling the pilot to use high magnification day/night cameras to scour the area for enemy activity. Cruising speed is 560 kilometers an hour and the A-10 can slow down to about 230 kilometers an hour. It can also carry two drop tanks which give the aircraft more fuel and maximum time over the
Since July 20th, four A-10s from the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron of US Air force have practiced landing at an airfield that that has been decommissioned since 2000, near Nowe Miasto, in Poland. The cracked, crumbling runway is in bad shape from long lack of any maintenance, as the past Polish unit stationed there used helicopters, and conditions at the former Warsaw Pact airfield are poor in general. Not a problem for the A-10, which is nearly immune to FOD (Foreign Object Damage), usually caused by trash or debris being sucked into the engine air intakes during takeoffs and landings, thanks to its engines and their air intakes being mounted far from the surface of the runway.
In addition to its robust structure and tough landing gear, this makes A-10 the perfect aircraft to deploy in such a location.
As the long abandoned airfield had no control tower, lightning or runway markings anymore, the deployment was supported by a Combat Controllers (CCT) team from the 321st Special Tactics Squadron, which …show more content…
However, currently it mostly uses HEI (High explosive incendiary) ammunition for its cannon, as armored targets are rare in the current conflicts US is involved in. In addition, the A-10 can carry seven tons of bombs and missiles. These days the A-10 are often equipped with with smart bombs (GPS and laser guided) and Maverick missiles. It can also carry a targeting pod, enabling the pilot to use high magnification day/night cameras to scour the area for enemy activity. Cruising speed is 560 kilometers an hour and the A-10 can slow down to about 230 kilometers an hour. It can also carry two drop tanks which give the aircraft more fuel and maximum time over the