Watch A-10 Thunderbolt attack planes drop bombs, fire gun on shooting range in Central Europe

March 8, 2015 Military Aviation
David Cenciotti

U.S. Air Force A-10s deployed to Germany train at the Nordhorn firing range.

Last month, the U.S. Air Force has deployed 12 A-10 Thunderbolt attack planes from the 355th Fighter Wing, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, to Spangdahlem airbase, in Germany, as part of a so-called TSP (theater security package).

For about 6 months, the A-10s will operate in Germany and in eastern Europe (most probably in Poland) to augment U.S. Air Force in Europe support to Operation Atlantic Resolve, and reassure regional allies.

During their deployment, the Thunderbolts will conduct daily training sorties in Central Europe; on Mar. 5, some “Hogs” (as the A-10s are dubbed among the fighter pilots community) visited the Nordhorn range, in north western Germany, where they were filmed dropping bombs and using their GAU-8 Avenger 30 mm hydraulically driven seven-barrel Gatling-type (the same heavily used to attack ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq).

H/T to Glen Towler for the heads-up

 

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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.

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5 Comments

  1. And here we see the A-10 frolicking in it’s natural environment that evolution has fine tuned it for.

  2. good thing the US Air Force wouldn’t send A-10’s into such an environment without first neutralizing such threats.

  3. Stating the obvious the A-10 was designed to kill tanks and provide CAS which it does better than any other aircraft (including the F-35).

    Intercepting Bear bombers is not on the menu….

  4. A-10 is literally the BEST jet for survival of hostile fire. That being said, any thing fighter size (or even bigger) gets hit with a missile the size of a telephone pole and their likely gonna be riding the silk slowly to the ground. I guess it goes like this:
    “I don’t always get shot at, but when I do, I prefer to be in a A-10.”

  5. Love the A10’s!! It is so nimble when in flight and so effictive in battle…These plane are old technology and fills a modern need. They truley the thunder and lightning when they fire the 30mm cannons..can also a variety of wepons under the wings…

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