The A-10 Warthog, a twin engine US Air Force ground attack
jet, was designed and built from the wheels up for the sole purpose of
supporting ground forces. Outwardly ugly and ungainly, the A-10 is one of the
most efficient aerial killers ever to take to the sky. Sheathed in 900 pounds of
titanium armour, the Warthog - whose official name is the Thunderbolt II - can
survive direct hits from armour-piercing and high-explosive projectiles as large
as 23mm. It has triple redundancy in its flight control systems, allowing pilots
to fly and land when hydraulic power is out or part of a wing has been shot off.
Introduced in the mid-1970s, the A-10 has seen service in the Gulf War of
1990-1991; in the Balkans, later in the 1990s; in Afghanistan after 2001; and in the occupation of
Iraq, beginning in the spring of
2003. Illustrated with more than 106 photographs, 11 full colour paintings, 43
detail drawings and two pages of three-view
drawings.
