Following the Philippine's construction of a new light escort carrier, the Navy has requested for a very specific close air support aircraft, which had VTOL capabilities. The reasoning behind this is that the carrier being constructed was said to be about 200m long, or less. Most modern jet aircraft would have a difficult time landing on carriers this small, so a new plane had to be designed

The aircraft was designed with the following in mind: Firstly, The aircraft's main objective is to take out ground targets. Since most insurgencies in the Philippines were very low profile, barely having any hard equipment, like armored vehicles or anti-aircraft guns, extensive armoring was not needed. It did, however, incorporate many design features found on it's distant cousin, the A-10. The second requirement was that the plane needed to be cheap and easy to manufacture, while being able to meet the safety standards of a modern fighter aircraft. Most of the cost would go into advance flight systems, so the aircraft would need to cut corners in other areas. An obvious manifestation of this we're the wings. The wing area was almost impossibly low. This led to the problem of the aircraft not being able to perform a conventional takeoff when carrying any weapon or more than half filled fuel tanks. Luckily, the VTOL system of the plane was relatively powerful.

The engines were derived from the GE F118 engine, and each could produce up to 67kN of force, which was almost twice as much as the A-10s TF34 engines, while providing almost 5000 shaft horsepower to the lift fans for VTOL takeoff. The design incorporated a ball-and-socket type joint, as opposed to the F-35's Three Bearing Swivel Duct Nozzle(3BSD), which made it possible for the exhaust duct to be made of cheaper, lower grade material. The system works by first rotating the entire compressor and combustor unit, and a second joint rotates the combustor unit to an almost 90 degree angle. Because of this, the engine is subject to less wear than engines which redirect a significant amount of post-combustor exhaust, which has extremely high temperatures. Unfortunately, due to the engines power, and it's position on the plane, it is limited to less than 30kN of force in normal flight, as to not introduce a pitching motion at high throttle inputs

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Addendum-7a:
Due to the increasing tensions between China in the West Philippine Sea, the Navy has decided to procure AGM-88 HARM and AGM-169 JCM missiles from the US in order to prepare for possible ground attack operations against the Chinese

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew : 1
• Empty weight : 9,071 kg
• Gross weight : 12,644 kg
• Max takeoff weight: 13,000 kg
• Fuel capacity : 1,295 kg internally
• Powerplant : 2 × GE F118-X200A-3 Non-afterburning medium-bypass turbofans

Performance

• Maximum speed: 550 kmph at sea level
• Stall Speed : 320 kmph
• VTOL takeoff transition speed: 220kmph
• Range : Estimated at around 1620 nmi (3,000 km)
• Service ceiling : Estimated at around 39370 ft (12,000 m)
• g limits : +7.5/-4.0 (on full weapons load)

Armament

• Guns: 35mm XA/353 ML modified Oerlikon AA cannon

• CAS/Ground Attack Loadout:
  x2 AGM-88 HARM
  x2 Mk 83 Multipurpose bomb
  x6 AGM-169 JCM
  x2 AIM-4 Falcon Ds for self defense

Controls

Pitch, Roll, and Yaw are normal
VTOL=Flaps
AG-1: Toggle VTOL mode

Warning: When in VTOL mode, VTOL controls the engine angle. Further instructions on how to operate are listed below

AG-2: Folds wings
AG-3: Arresting hook
AG-4: Jettison Air-to-surface missiles and bombs
AG-5: Jettison Air-to-air missiles

Proper Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing procedures

Takeoff: Vertical

Engage AG-1
Move VTOL slider to the -1 postion
Increase throttle to 80%
Keep aircraft steady(Pitch, Roll, and Yaw controls are the same for VTOL mode)
Climb to 200m above ground level. Raise Landing Gear
Slowly increase throttle and VTOL sliders, until max(They need to reach maximum at the same time)
Increase airspeed to 220 kmph (138 mph)
Disengage AG-1 and move VTOL slider to the .375 position You will feel the aircraft pitch down, but do not attempt to correct until engines are back to flight position
Increase airspeed to 430 kmph (255 mph) It is important to maintain altitude at this stage
Set flaps to .175

Landing: Vertical

Engage AG-1
Decrease Throttle to 50%
Slow to 220 kmph
Move the VTOL slider towards the -1 position depending on the plane's position relative to the landing zone(It should be all the way down about 500m from the target)
Increase the Throttle to 75%This is to be done alongside the aforementioned step
Pitch up at 20 degrees to slow down
Decrease Throttle to 60% once speed matches that of target
Make fine adjustment to the throttle depending on the vertical distance from the landing zone until plane touches the ground, at which point, shut of both engines

Takeoff: Short

Increase speed to 100kmph (81mph)
Engage AG-1
VTOL slider must be at the 1 position
Takeoff at 130kmph
Climb to 200m above ground level. Raise Landing Gear
Slowly increase throttle and VTOL sliders, until max(They need to reach maximum at the same time)
Increase airspeed to 220 kmph (138 mph)
Disengage AG-1 and move VTOL slider to the .375 position You will feel the aircraft pitch down, but do not attempt to correct until engines are back to flight position
Increase airspeed to 430 kmph (255 mph) It is important to maintain altitude at this stage
Set flaps to .175

Landing: Short/Carrier

Engage AG-1
Decrease Throttle to 75%
Slow to 330 kmph
Keep VTOL slider at .45
Engage AG-3(when landing on carrier)
Catch arresting wire of carrier(There will be 3 on the new light escort carrier)

Thank you for your patience
Good luck and safe travels!

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Soo... here's the VTOL A-10 thing. To be honest, I didn't really know what I was doing. This wasn't really planned like my F/A-19, where I actually calculated some angles and made the blueprints. It was more of a FUN build, a break from the complicated stuff. But it also serves as a transition for me. I'm gonna be making realistically designed aircraft from now on. Ones with flight models that match those of real life. I also won't be making replicas or tanks anymore(sorry to those who wanted tanks). Anyway, enjoy the plane!

P.S.
I will post a COIN version shortly and a Naval attack version in a day or two. I will also be making the aircraft carrier mentioned here. Hopefully I have the time(BTW, the story mentioned above was pure fiction. It is not real, I repeat, NOT REAL).