PALUBA

Captain Craig Button was a United States Air Force pilot who disappeared while flying what should have been a routine training mission out of Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. Multiple attempts to establish radio contact with his Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II failed as it flew hundreds of miles off course. Radar was able to track his inexplicable flight into the Colorado Rockies before he vanished. It would be three weeks before his aircraft was found, and its 2,000 pounds of live bombs are still missing to this day…

U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircrew assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron conduct air-to-air refueling with U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, July 21, 2020. The KC-135 Stratotanker delivers U.S. Air Forces Central Command a global reach aerial refueling capability to support joint and coalition aircraft, providing war-winning airpower throughout the USCENTCOM area of responsibility. The Thunderbolt II is a highly accurate airframe that, provide U.S. and coalition forces a maneuverable close air support and precision strike platform.

Airmen at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base implementing integrated combat turns in support of exercise Bushwhacker 20-07. Integrated combat turns, or ICTs, are the rapid re-arming of the A-10 Thunderbolt II to reduce the pilot's ground time, which allows them to quickly resume air dominance.

A-10 Gear Up Landing With No Canopy


Air Force pilot earns Distinguished Flying Cross after landing A-10 with damaged gear, no canopy

Video taken from the end of a July 2017 training mission, in which Major Brett Devries, from the 107th Fighter Squadron, successfully landed his A-10 Thunderbolt II without landing gear, or canopy. The plane's canopy, and use of the landing gear, were lost following a gun misfire, while conducting a training mission at the Grayling Air Gunnery Range.

Northrop Grumman awarded contract for A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $185,700,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program Legacy VII. This contract provides for sustaining engineering services of A-10 aircraft.

A-10 Warthog Live Fire Exercise • Warren Grove Range

A-10C Thunderbolt II with the 175th Wing, Maryland Air National Guard, conducts a training mission at Warren Grove Range, N.J., Dec. 3, 2020. Warren Grove Range is operated by 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard. (U.S. Army National Guard video by Spc. Michael Schwenk)

A-10 Warthog • Pilsung Range ROK

Osan TACP airmen conduct routine training at the Pilsung Range, Republic of Korea.

The Air Force A-10 replacement strategy could involve building a new plane, adjusting an existing aircraft or merely upgrading the A-10 itself.

The A-10 was designed around the General Electric GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm cannon and its seven barrels, which are able to dish out devastating punishment to armor. Over the years, the Warthog's 11 hardpoints have evolved from carrying dumb iron bombs and rockets to hauling the latest guided ordnance.