Venerable ‘Warthog’ due for an upgrade

A pilot assigned to the 81st Fighter Squadron climbs into an A-10 Thunderbolt II prior to flying a local training mission out of Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, in 2006.


Venerable ‘Warthog’ due for an upgrade
By Scott Schonauer, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, April 6, 2008

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — They don’t call the A-10 the “Warthog” for nothing.

The venerable attack plane is considered the ugliest in the Air Force. But there is probably no prettier sight to soldiers on the ground when they need air support in a hurry. The only Air Force plane designed for close-air support has become a workhorse in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

That is why one of the Air Force’s older planes is getting a new lease on a worn — but arguably effective — service life.

The Warthog is in for a major overhaul.

The military plans to spend $420 million to modernize the plane’s cockpit controls and improve the avionics and weapons. Additional improvements to extend the life of the airframe another 25 years could cost as much as $4.4 billion, according to a General Accountability Office report released in 2007.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=53866



uhc comment: This is the second article in a row talking about 'old' aircraft.

It may be effective but it was designed for busting armor, not attacking personnel on the ground with 30mm DU rounds.