(Luft) Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

[Schneemann]

Ein kleines Upgrade bzgl. der Bewaffnung für das alte Schlachtross:

A-10 Warthog To Soon Carry 16 Small Diameter Bombs In Combat

U.S. Air Force A-10 Warthogs can now employ up to 16 GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs) on a single sortie, among other stores, with the help of a new software update. Four of the five pylons under the fuselage were recently loaded with specialized bomb racks each holding four SDBs during a test sortie to validate the software for frontline distribution. [...]

As part of the newer version of OFP 11, the 422nd TES specifically tested an updated software patch that supports two additional GBU-39/B SDB racks being fitted under A-10s. This test marked the first time the 422nd TES “carried and employed all four bomb racks of [16] GBU-39/Bs on a single jet,” the image captions note. As The War Zone reported in August of last year, initial carriage tests of SDBs loaded under A-10s had already been completed by the 422nd TES, with live-fire tests soon to follow. The wider A-10 fleet, as we also noted last August, is expected to receive SDB upgrades this year.

The GBU-39/B SDB is an air-launched precision weapon. With initial low-rate production beginning in 2005, the standard GBU-39/B features a combination inertial navigation system with a GPS guidance system, while the GBU-39B/B adds laser guidance. At just 250-pounds, the GBU-39/B provides A-10 pilots with greater ability to make precision standoff strikes compared Joint Direct Attack Munitions and AGM-65 Maverick missiles due to the SDB's ability glide dozens of miles to its target. While light in weight, SDB still packs an formidable punch and can even penetrate hardened structures.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/a-...-in-combat

Schneemann