A-10 Warthogs of the U.S. Air Force practiced landing (and take off) from a highway in northern Estonia.
For the second time in little more than one month, USAF A-10s, practiced highway operations from a public road in Estonia on Aug. 1.
The Warthogs, belonging to the 303rd Fighter Squadron, 442nd Fighter Wing, from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and deployed to Ämari Air Base on Jul. 25 performed landings and take offs from the Jägala-Käravete Highway in Northern Estonia.
The ability to perform landings from highways is unique to the A-10 that can exploit its wide tyres and high-mounted engines (therefore less prone to FOD – Foreign Object Damage).
Part of the standard training during the Cold War, highway operations training from dispersed places, has resumed in eastern Europe as a consequence of the renewed tensions with Russia.
don’t get how people can just be dismissing the utility of such a bargain aircraft…. but the US DoD is always about wasting as much money as possible for their defense industry buddies
don;t scrap the a10’s! just sell them to the poles!
Can the “we must have” F-35 do this? Without getting scratched//
There was a story in a 1970’s car magazine about a journalist testing a new Volvo in Northern Sweden. He was stopped so that a SAAB Viggen could land on the highway. He wrote that the Viggen dropped out of the sky like a hot rock and stopped amazingly quickly, making lots of noise and flying debris. In a few minutes it took off again and disappeared into a gloomy sky. The military police then thanked him for his patience and waved him on. That must have been quite a sight.