jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) (08/31/90)
From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher)
This is the first in a series of postings on the relative strengths and
weaknesses of the combat aircraft which would be involved in battle if war
were to break out in the Middle East. The facts and figures posted here are
from various diverse sources (none of them classified, in fact, I have never
applied for nor have I ever held a security clearance). Some of them may be
incomplete, some may be contradictory, and some may even be wrong. I would
greatly appreciate hearing from readers of sci.military concerning any errors
or omissions in these postings.
My sources are several:
Various issues of Aviation Week
Various issues of Defense Electronics
The Observer's Book of Aircraft, William Green.
The World's Great Attack Aircraft, Gallery Books
The World's Great Interceptor Aircraft, Gallery Books
Modern Air Combat, Bill Gunston, Mike Spick
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston
First in the series: the A-10 Thunderbolt II:
Fairchild/Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II
Engine: Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans, 9065 lb. st.
(no afterburners)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 439 mph at sea level (clean)
Combat speed: 438 mph at 5000 feet (with 6 Mk 82 bombs)
Initial climb rate: 6000 feet/minute (at 31,700 lb weight)
Ferry range: 2450 miles.
Combat radius: 288 miles (close air support, 1.7 hr loiter).
Combat radius: 620 miles (deep strike).
Wing area: 510 sq. ft.
Takeoff run: 4000 feet (with maximum load)
Weights:
Empty weight: 24,960 lbs.
Normal loaded weight: 32,770 lbs.
Maximum takeoff weight: 50,000 lbs.
Armament:
One 30-mm General Electric GAU-8/A Avenger rotary cannon.
Both armor-piercing (depleted uranium core) and high-explosive
shells can be fired.
11 external stores stations.
Mix of laser guided bombs, conventional iron bombs, Maverick
air to surface missiles, Rockeye cluster bombs
Maximum weapons load: 16,000 pounds.
Electronics:
Kaiser Heads-up display.
Rear warning radar.
Equipped with "Pave Penny" laser tracking pod under forward
fuselage. This system detects and tracks targets illuminated
by a friendly laser. Outputs data to cockpit heads-up display
or to weapons-aiming avionic system.
Various electronics countermeasures pods can be carried.
There are plans to retrofit the A-10 to carry the LANTIRN
(Low-Altitude Navigation Targeting IR for Night) fire control
pod. I don't know if these plans have been carried out.
Remarks:
Mounting of engines high up on rear fuselage masks the hot
exhaust gases above the wing and the tail, reducing the infrared
signature from below.
Heavy armor around cockpit.
Good low altitude maneuverability.
Not intended to face enemy fighters. Relies on low-altitude
agility to evade interception.
The 30-mm cannon is deadly to tanks, especially from the
top where the armor is thinner. I've seen films of tests
in which armor-piercing shells fired by an A-10 rip right
through the entire body of a Warsaw Pact tank. The prospect
of having to face a squadron of A-10s screaming across the
desert just a few feet off the deck, blasting away with that
awesome GAU-8/A cannon, must strike sheer terror into the
heart of an Iraqi tank commander.
30-mm cannon restricted to short bursts, since the momentum
of the shells can slow the plane down dramatically.
The electronics suite is somewhat austere in comparison to
other attack aircraft in US inventory. No terrain-following
radar is carried, so the A-10 might not be very effective in
night operations.
Lack of high accuracy inertial navigation platform makes
it difficult for A-10 to carry out accurate attack with
conventional bombs without exposing itself to a greater
degree to ground fire.
The A-10 was designed for the European theater of operations,
where its low-altitude maneuverability would enable it to
fly behind low hills or down in the trees, helping it to
avoid being hit by enemy gunfire or homing missiles. In the
flat, featureless terrain of Saudi Arabia, such tactics
would not work and losses of A-10 aircraft could be expected
to be high. This is especially true if the enemy has well-
trained troops equipped with a determined ground-based missile
or gunfire defense system.
Joe Baugher **************************************
AT&T Bell Laboratories * "Round up the usual suspects." *
200 Park Plaza **************************************
Naperville, Illinois 60566-7050
(708) 713 4548
ihlpm!jfb Who, me? Speak for AT&T? Surely you jest!
jfb200@cbnewsd.att.com