Finally: US Tests the NEW Super A-10 Warthog After Getting An Upgrade

Not to mention a morale boost to troops that you just can’t put a price tag on. The A-10 is iconic.

I crewed the A-10. I am still proud that that I was given the opportunity to crew a magnificent aircraft.

As a former Marine, there is no aircraft that is more appreciated than the Warthog for Air to ground support!! Period!! So glad they are updating this aircraft for future missions. This aircraft dominates in the area it was designed for, close ground support!

Having the A-10 taking care of the enemy while on the ground with my Marines and Sailors was a divine blessing, saving the life of all of us. The reality is that close air support is utmost integral part for the success of many missions, especially in the early stages of the war. This is an essential asset that no salty, combat ridden or experienced infantry commander would like to be without.

When I was in the Army, my friend and neighbor, was an A-10 mechanic. He gave me an up close and personal tour one time. He explained that the engines are designed to eject small arms rounds and small fragments before they get to the internals. Even slow, the minimal profile is difficult to hit. If it does get hit, I'm not sure it cares. He saw (and I saw the pictures) A-10s nearly shot in half return to base. Enemy soldiers that did attempt to shoot one down, were pretty much just giving away the location of the next strafing run. It's a tough aircraft that has no equal in its designed role, and deserves continued service.

The A10. Having her come in over head was a game changer for us Army people… She has earned her wings and a soft spot in our hearts

The A-10 Warthog is a perfect example of an apex weapon system that everyone wants to replace because of politics, career ambition, money and ego. It is one of the few platforms that has become MORE effective as the nature of conflict has evolved. Its highly robust, incredibly reliable AND cheap. Not only that, but because nearly every pilot comes home, you have a cadre of pilots that are masters of their craft. When REAL war against an equal foe happens, that will mean more than it does now... mark my words. If the A-10 Warthog has one fault it is this ..... its basically embarrassing all the people who are trying to get kickbacks from aviation and military firms who are trying to market its replacement (a replacement that nobody asked for and nobody needs.) The A-10 is godly and anyone trying replace it needs to check their headspace. It works brilliantly, it has incredibly low losses, its easy to deploy. If any A-10 pilot reads this... thank you for your excellent service.

I am retired Army and while on active duty I witnessed first hand the devastation of an A10 strike that was in conjunction with companies/battalions of Kiowa and Apaches. The most destructive events of my life and with all the firepower and coordination of moving parts, it was like a beautiful ballet. Needs to be seen and heard to be believed. 😉

I do like the F-35; but I never believed the claim that it could replace the A-10; that, to me, was pure marketing hogwash. Glad for the upgrade.

Only the A-10 can perform a slow low altitude close air support role and with the Pave Penny laser detector system it can lock on to targets being lased and fire precision laser guided weapons. The F-35 is a great multi roll aircraft but no aircraft can match the A-10's specific close air ground support role. Just ask the guys on the ground.

So glad to see the Warthog will remain in our arsenal. It is such a unique, necessary, and very effective design to support our ground troops. There is no way an F35 could do what the A10 does so well.

The new,improved, upgraded A10 may be an immense improvement over the original Warthog, but will probably never be as revered, respected, relied upon or loved like the original one. They've added new wings, upgraded electronics and weapons but the close ground support attack aircraft will be hard to top. They say that on the battlefield, if you hear the Warthog's main gun firing, you weren't the target.

The Warthog is to me the most amazing aircraft. Less expensive and longivity makes this one great plane. I am happy that we will continue to use it.

They've been trying to get rid of the A10 for a long time but every time there's a conflict it proves it's self to unreplaceable

Out of five A-10 upgrade videos I went through, this is the only one that got to the point, stayed on point, and was actually worth watching.

During Desert Shield / Desert Storm I was a member of the Reconnaissance for Taskforce Papa Bear. Part of our orders were to spot enemy targets and call in Airstrikes, we had on call air every 5-minutes if we needed it. The A-10 Warthog and pilots flying them saved our asses many times, and decimated enemy targets with ease.

I was a a-10 crew chief for 25 years and since retiring miss it so much. I was even able to train with the f-35 when it first came out and the a-10 is so much more suited to close air support Both air craft have great value but the a-10 cant be matched for what it does.

The A-10 is the best air- to- ground platform in today's skies ! Amazing ground attack aircraft, with great survivability !

My Cavalry unit participated in testing of the A-10 thermal imaging sight that allowed the pilot to detect targets in low visibility, fog, night, etc. Our tanks were not allowed to run our crew heaters in the freezing German winter to test the systems ability to detect us from engine compartment heat alone. Just prior to flyover we'd fire blank 105mm rounds and the aircraft would actually detect heat from the guntube. Warsaw Pact tanks did not have crew heaters and any tank commander that ran their heater would result in the entire tank to glow on the pilots screen. No one did. We ran these scenarios with different formations for 30 days freezing our b*lls off. Tests were successful and the Air Force threw us a party at Ramstein AFB. That same TTS system was later adapted and installed in M-60A3 tanks. Hard to believe that was almost 50 years ago.

Many years ago I served in marine tanks and during a training operation I poped up over a hill and came face to face with a A-10. I can tell you that is one scary sight and it made me realize how awesome that aircraft is for ground support