Gorgeous video shows U.S. A-10 landing on a dirt runway in the desert

Try to do that with an F-35….

As already reported, two U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II jets belonging to the 75th Fighter Squadron, from Moody Air Force Base, performed austere landing operations at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, as part of a Green-Flag West mission on Jul. 26.

The following footage shows the two aircraft land sending up clouds of dirt (the status of the unprepared runway can be seen at the beginning of the video), meet face to face with the combat controllers who called them in and then depart to continue their Close Air Support mission.

Now, the video proves the “Hogs” can operate from sand/desert strips. What about the aircraft that is going to replace the A-10 in the U.S. Air Force? Will the F-35A be able to land in an unprepared field, to refuel and take off again to continue the fight?

In the meanwhile, check this gorgeous video showing the badass “Warthog” at work!

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About David Cenciotti

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.