‘You hear gunshots
in the background;
you hear screams of
urgency in their voices.
You could just tell they
need help and they
need it now’
Capt Jeremiah ‘Bull’ Parvinambushed by enemy forces. The soldiers
were pinned behind their vehicle and three
sustained injuries that required evacuation.
A two-ship of 74th EFS ‘Warthogs’ was on
hand to support. An initial ‘show of force’
pass failed to scatter the insurgents, so the
lead aircraft marked the enemy position
with two rockets as the wingman prepared
for a pass with the 30mm. It seriously stirred
up the action on the ground and the enemy
was still advancing on the US position. This
triggered authorization for a ‘danger-close’
pass — where risk to US troops existed. The
A-10s circled for low-angle gun passes at
just 75ft while fl ying parallel to US forces to
avoid friendly fi re. They completed 15 gun
passes and dropped three 500lb Joint Direct
Attack Munitions. With the enemy in retreat
and virtually wiped out, the A-10s remained
on station to provide ‘Sandy’ support for the
incoming medic helicopters.
The more recent operations in Iraq against
the so-called Islamic State (IS) militants
understandably drew calls for A-10s to be
deployed. Tackling small, fl eeting targets
surely fell right into the A-10’s remit?
However, the USAF was understandably
hesitant to send the type in. The ‘Hog’ fl ies
lower and slower than other ‘fast air’ assets
in the area, and the SAM threat was initially
unclear. Indeed, the Iraqi Air Force had
suffered at the hands of militants with man-
portable air defense systems (MANPADS).
The USAF announced last September
that the 122nd Fighter Wing, Indiana ANG
would deploy 12 aircraft to the US Central
Command region in October, initially
for missions in Afghanistan. However,
by November it became clear that these
A-10Cs would move to Kuwait to join the
Iraq missions being conducted as part of
Operation ‘Inherent Resolve’. This may have
been due to the fact that the MANPADS
threat was lower than envisaged, that
fewer ground targets were being hit, andAnti-clockwise from above right: The
unmistakable 30mm General Electric GAU-8/A
Avenger hydraulically driven seven-barrel
Gatling-type cannon. Jamie Hunter
The Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-33 Sniper
Advanced Targeting Pod. Jamie Hunter
A recent upgrade has seen integration of
the Thales/Visionix Scorpion color helmet-
mounted display in the A-10C.
USAF A1C Ryan Callaghan
The cockpit of the A-10C has two multi-
function displays, and the aircraft features the
Situational Awareness Datalink (SADL) as well
as the ROVER video downlink via the targeting
pod. Jamie Hunter32 May 2015 http://www.combataircraft.net28-33 A-10 C.indd 32 19/03/2015 10:30