The pilot of this A-10 Warthog was performing a CAS sortie by means of its GAU- 8/A Avenger 30 Mike Mike Cannon in an enemy village at an undisclosed location.
As we have reported in April the A-10 Warthog special painted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 107th Fighter Squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base (ANGB) was adorned with an unusual Cow Kill Mark.
According to some internet rumors, the pilot of this aircraft said he was performing a Close Air Support (CAS) sortie by means of its GAU- 8/A Avenger 30 Mike Mike Cannon in an enemy village at an undisclosed location. Nicking off bad guys and such. Afterwards, when the ground troops came in to secure and get the final kill count, they found a cow blown to pieces by 30mm freedom hotdogs.
The following animation video was made by A.C.E. – Advanced Combat Environment online game and shows how the poor cow became a casualty during the aforementioned CAS mission.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II, affectionately nicknamed “The Warthog,” was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) by the OEM Team from Fairchild Republic Company, now a part of Northrop Grumman Corporation Aerospace Systems Eastern Region located in Bethpage NY and St. Augustine FL. Following in the footsteps of the legendary P-47 Thunderbolt, the OEM Team was awarded a study contract in the 1960s to define requirements for a new CAS aircraft, rugged and survivable, to protect combat troops on the ground. This initial study was followed up by a prototype development contract for the A-X, and a final flyoff competition resulting in the selection of the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
Selection of the A-10 Warthog for this mission was based on the dramatic low altitude maneuverability, lethality, “get home safe” survivability, and mission capable maintainability designed into the jet by the OEM team. This design features a titanium “bathtub” that protects the pilot from injury, and dually redundant flight control systems that allow the pilot to fly the aircraft out of enemy range, despite severe damage such as complete loss of hydraulic capability. These features have been utilized to great effect in both the Desert Storm conflict of the 1990’s and in the more recent Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Global War on Terror engagements.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
