Members from the 122nd Fighter Wing from Fort Wayne, Indiana prepare, inspect, and start an A-10 Thunderbolt II for a flight in support of the NATO-led Resolute Support. The 122d Fighter Wing (122 FW sometimes 122d) is a unit of the Indiana Air National Guard, stationed at Fort Wayne Air National Guard Station, Fort Wayne, Indiana. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. In 2009 – the year the unit honored its predecessor unit – the 358th FG – with an heritage jet – it was decided that the squadron was to retire their 20-year-old F-16s and become an A-10 Thunderbolt II squadron. The conversion happened in 2010.
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin turbofan engine, straight wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). Commonly referred to by the nicknames “Warthog” or “Hog”, its official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a World War II fighter-bomber effective at attacking ground targets. The A-10 was designed for close air support (CAS) of friendly ground troops, attacking armored vehicles and tanks, and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It entered service in 1976 and is the only production-built aircraft that has served in the USAF that was designed solely for CAS.
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Credit: Eugene Crist | AiirSource Military Channel
