Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II

The A-10 Thunderbolt II was conceived to counter a Soviet armored offensive across the Fulda Gap had the cold war gone hot. While such a scenario fortunately never came to fruition, the A-10 would prove itself during the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The "Warthog" demonstrates impressive ground-attack capability through a variety of air to ground weapons and the GAU-8/A Avenger anti-tank rotary autocannon. The A-10 was also famed for its survivability; flight control redundancy, a titanium "bathtub," and the ability to land easily with gear retracted are only a few of the characteristics that allowed A-10's to bring back their pilots in one piece even if the aircraft wasn't. However, it is worth noting that the effectiveness of survivability through durability in modern combat is questionable. The C-variant implements avionics improvements and smart weapon and targeting pod compatibility.

All variants of the A-10 are used by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the USAF forbids international sale of the aircraft. And while there are discussions regarding the replacement of the A-10, as of 2017, A-10's are to be kept in inventory indefinitely. Read more...

Country of Origin: United States
Role: Attacker
Crew: 1
Armament: 1x 30mm GAU-8/A
Payload: 2x AIM-9M Sidewinder, 1x AN/ALQ-184 ECM Pod, 1x LAU-131 Rocket Pod, 1x AN/AAQ-28 Litening Targeting Pod, 2x AGM-65D Maverick, 6x Mk82 Bomb, 2x GBU-38 JDAM
Alt.Config.1: 2x AIM-9M Sidewinder, 1x AN/ALQ-184 ECM Pod, 1x LAU-131 Rocket Pod, 1x AN/AAQ-28 Litening Targeting Pod, 2x AGM-65D Maverick, 4x GBU-38 JDAM, 1x Mk83 Bomb
Alt.Config.2: 2x AIM-9M Sidewinder, 1x AN/ALQ-184 ECM Pod, 1x LAU-131 Rocket Pod, 1x AN/AAQ-28 Litening Targeting Pod, 4x AGM-65D Maverick, 4x GBU-38 JDAM, 1x Mk83 Bomb
Livery: Standard USAF Two-Tone Gray/Black

Controls
Normal Throttle/Pitch/Roll/Yaw/Landing Gear
Fire Guns: Fire 1x 30mm GAU-8/A
AG1: Lights
Hardpoint activation groups are numbered from the wingtip to fuselage.
AG2: Wing Hardpoint 1A/B(r) AIM-9M Manual Release 
AG3: Wing Hardpoint 3 AGM-65E Manual Release
AG4: Wing Hardpoint 4A/B/C Mk82 Manual Release
AG5: Fuselage Hardpoint 1 GBU-38 Manual Release
VTOL: Elevator Adjustment (Inverted)
Trim: Flaps (Inverted)
Cam1: Left Wing View
Cam2: Right Wing View
Cam3: Targeting Pod View

Author's Notes
- The gun is aimed slightly downwards.
- When taking off, use full upwards VTOL and full flaps.
- Flaps required below 350 km/h.
- Non-centered nose gear causes plane to veer right while rolling. If you feel like the aircraft is losing control while braking, let go of the brakes and counter yaw. Below 130 km/h, you should be able to brake without worrying too much.
- Fuel and gun ammo is unlimited.

Weapons Changelog
- Flares: Count for attackers precedent set to 100. (50 standard)
- AN/AAQ-28 Litening: New model.
- TER Rack: New model.

XML Changelog
03/12/2022: V2.1 Elevator FT changed; allows higher turn rate at higher speeds.

In-Game Name (For Reference): [RD] A-10C