The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. It is the only United States Air Force production aircraft designed solely for close air support, including attacking tanks, armored vehicles, and other ground targets with limited air defenses.

The A-10A single-seat variant was the only version built, though one A-10A was converted to an A-10B twin-seat version. In 2005, a program was begun to upgrade remaining A-10A aircraft to the A-10C configuration.

• Role: Fixed-wing close air support, forward air control, and ground-attack aircraft
• National origin: United States
  
• Manufacturer: Fairchild Republic
• First flight: 10 May 1972
• Introduction: March 1977
• Status: In service
• Produced: 1972–1984
• Number built: 716
  
• Nicknames: “Warthog” or “Hog

Military operator

• United States Air Force

Specifications (A-10A)

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: 30,384 lb (13,782 kg)
  CAS mission: 47,094 lb (21,361 kg)
  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
• Internal fuel capacity: 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)

Performance

• Never exceed speed: 450 knots (518 mph^, 833 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) with 18 Mk 82 bombs
• Maximum speed: 381 knots (439 mph, 706 km/h) at sea level, clean
• Cruise speed: 300 knots (340 mph, 560 km/h)
• Stall speed: 120 knots (138 mph, 220 km/h)
• Combat radius:
  • CAS mission: 250 nmi (288 mi, 460 km) at 1.88 hour loiter at 5,000 ft (1,500 m), 10 min combat
  • Anti-armor mission: 252 nmi (290 mi, 467 km), 40 nmi (45 mi, 75 km)) sea-level penetration and exit, 30 min combat
• Ferry range: 2,240 nmi (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 cannon with 1,174 rounds (Capacity 1,350)
• Hardpoints: 11 (8× under-wing and 3× under-fuselage pylon stations) with a capacity of 16,000 lb (7,260 kg) and provisions to carry combinations of:
  • Rockets:
    • 4× LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19× / 7× Hydra 70 mm rockets, respectively)
    • 4× LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19× CRV7 70 mm rockets)
    • 6× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× 127 mm (5.0 in) Zuni rockets)
  • Missiles:
    • 2× AIM-9 Sidewinders air-to-air missiles for self-defense
    • 6× AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles
  • Bombs:
    • Mark 80 series of unguided iron bombs or
    • Mk 77 incendiary bombs or
    • BLU-1, BLU-27/B Rockeye II, Mk20, BL-755 and CBU-52/58/71/87/89/97 cluster bombs or
    • Paveway series of Laser-guided bombs or
    • Joint Direct Attack Munition (A-10C) or
    • Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (A-10C)
  • Other:
    • SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys and chaff dispenser pod or
    • AN/ALQ-131 or AN/ALQ-184 ECM pods or
    • Lockheed Martin Sniper XR or LITENING targeting pods (A-10C) or
    • 2× 600 US gallon Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for increased range/loitering time.

Avionics

• AN/AAS-35(V) Pave Penny laser tracker pod (mounted beneath right side of cockpit) for use with Paveway LGBs (Currently the Pave Penny is no longer in use)
• Head-up display (HUD) for improved technical flying and air-to-ground support