Experience the Jaw-Dropping FIREPOWER of the A-10 Warthog!

Summary

A-10 Thunderbolt II，别名Warthog，是一种标志性的攻击机，以其凶猛、攻击性和独特的外观而闻名。该机型在1970年代开发，旨在填补美国空军对近距空中支援的需求，是一种简单、有效且生存能力强的飞机。A-10在海湾战争中声名鹊起，据报道摧毁了900多辆敌方坦克、2000辆军车、1200门火炮和两架直升机。A-10最标志性的特点是其30毫米的七管旋转机炮GAU-8 Avenger，这是有史以来最强大的飞机机载火炮之一。A-10的设计允许它在敌方火力下生存，具有两个后置发动机、防弹玻璃和钛合金驾驶舱。此外，A-10还具有出色的机动性，能够在敌方火力下进行躲避和逃脱。视频中还包括了A-10的装载过程、飞行中的G力承受能力、飞行员的装备以及独特的瞄准系统。最后，视频以A-10在实弹射击演示中的震撼表现作为高潮，展现了这一传奇战机的非凡实力。

Takeaways

• 🚀 A-10 Thunderbolt II，也被称为Warthog，是一种标志性的攻击机，以其坚固和火力强大而闻名。
• 🎯 A-10的设计初衷是近距离空中支援，能够在友军附近提供支援，当地面部队需要帮助时会呼叫A-10。
• 🔥 A-10最著名的特征是其30毫米的七管加特林机炮，即GAU-8 Avenger，是有史以来安装在飞机上最强大的枪械之一。
• ✈️ A-10在1991年海湾战争中声名鹊起，据报道摧毁了900多辆敌方坦克、2000辆军车、1200门火炮和两架直升机。
• 💥 A-10的设计允许飞机承受直接的穿甲弹和高爆弹的打击，具有极高的生存能力。
• 🛡️ A-10的驾驶舱周围有厚达1.5英寸的钛合金浴缸，即使机炮发生故障和爆炸，也无法穿透驾驶舱。
• 🔄 A-10拥有多种冗余系统，包括液压、电子和瞄准系统，甚至在失去所有液压油的情况下也能通过手动方式继续飞行。
• 📡 A-10配备了四个不同的无线电，包括专门用于战斗搜索和救援的LARS无线电，以便与被击落的机组人员通信。
• 🧭 A-10的PAC（精确增强控制）功能可以在最终攻击阶段冻结飞行控制，以确保最准确的射击。
• 👓 A-10飞行员的头盔配备了头盔安装的目标系统，可以快速将瞄准吊舱指向飞行员视线所指的地面目标。
• ⏳ 使用特殊的弹药装载车（Dragon）装载A-10的机炮大约需要30到45分钟，而射击完所有弹药大约只需要20秒。
• 🎨 A-10底部的黑色涂装设计有一个假的座舱盖，用以迷惑敌方，使他们无法快速判断飞机的姿态。

Q & A

A-10 Thunderbolt II通常被称为什么别名，这个别名的来源是什么？

A-10 Thunderbolt II通常被称为'Warthog'，这个别名来源于它凶猛、积极和独特的外观。

A-10攻击机在设计上最显著的特点是什么？

A-10攻击机最显著的特点是其30毫米的七管加特林机炮，即GAU-8 Avenger，这是历史上最强大的飞机搭载火炮之一。

A-10 Warthog在历史上的哪个冲突中声名鹊起，它在其中取得了哪些成就？

A-10 Warthog在海湾战争中声名鹊起，据报道它摧毁了超过900辆敌方坦克、2000辆军车、1200门火炮，甚至还有两架直升机。

A-10的机翼下有多少个硬点或挂架，它们可以携带哪些类型的武器？

A-10的机翼下有11个硬点或挂架，它们可以携带多种不同的武器，包括AIM-9响尾蛇空对空导弹、激光制导炸弹、GPS制导炸弹、小直径炸弹、Mark 82普通炸弹以及AGM 65空对地导弹。

A-10飞机的起落架设计有什么特别之处，它为何这样设计？

A-10的起落架设计有一个很大的轮胎，这样的设计允许飞机能够在恶劣的地点，如高速公路或土路上起飞和降落。

A-10飞机在执行任务时可以承受多少G力，飞行员通常穿着什么来保护身体？

A-10飞机在执行任务时可以承受超过7个G力，但通常情况下会保持在4到5个G力。飞行员在每次飞行任务中都会穿着G力服（G suit）来保护身体。

A-10飞机的瞄准和武器精确度如何，飞机上有哪些设备可以帮助提高这种精确度？

A-10飞机的瞄准和武器精确度很高，它有一个称为PAC（精确增强控制）的独特功能，可以冻结飞行控制系统，确保在最终瞄准时提供最准确的射击。此外，飞行员还使用头盔安装的目标系统，可以快速将目标指示器指向他们正在观察的地面位置。

A-10飞机的GAU-8 Avenger机炮的装填过程是如何的，需要多长时间？

A-10飞机的GAU-8 Avenger机炮使用一种称为'Dragon'的弹药装载装配车进行装填，这个过程大约需要30到45分钟来安装所有的弹药。

A-10飞机的底部为什么有黑色油漆，它的作用是什么？

A-10飞机底部的黑色油漆是一个假的座舱盖，设计用来迷惑敌方，使他们无法确定A-10是正着飞还是倒着飞，这在空对空战斗中可以造成敌人瞬间的犹豫，从而为A-10提供战术优势。

A-10飞机的GAU-8 Avenger机炮在开火时，为何不会对发动机造成损害？

最初开发A-10时，工程师们发现GAU-8 Avenger机炮开火时产生的烟雾可能会损害发动机，因为发动机可能无法获得足够的氧气。为了解决这个问题，他们修改了设计，建造了一个特殊的燃烧室，这样即使在开火时，飞机也能正常飞行。

A-10飞机的驾驶舱内有哪些独特的设备，它们各自的作用是什么？

A-10飞机的驾驶舱内有多个独特的设备，包括四个不同的无线电设备，其中LARS无线电专门用于战斗搜索和救援；军械控制面板用于武装飞机上的枪械和其他武器；多功能显示器可以显示移动地图和其他信息；对抗措施系统用于飞行保护；还有计算机用于输入坐标和网格。

A-10飞机的飞行员在敌对领土上飞行并面对敌方火力时，他们会感到怎样的心理安慰？

A-10飞行员在面对敌方火力时会感到安慰，因为飞机的设计允许它承受直接的穿甲和高爆弹的打击。飞机的两个发动机安装在后部机身，提供了对抗防空火力的最好机会。座舱由防弹玻璃制成，周围是厚达1.5英寸的钛合金浴缸，保护飞行员和飞行控制系统。即使机炮本身出现故障并爆炸，也无法穿透驾驶舱，因为钛合金设计非常坚固。

Outlines

00:00

🚀 A-10 Warthog的介绍与实弹演示

视频介绍了A-10 Thunderbolt II（别名Warthog）攻击机，一种外形独特、类似飞行坦克的飞机。A-10以其凶猛、攻击性强和辨识度高的外观而闻名，被称为地球上最丑陋也最美丽的飞机。视频摄制组位于Moody空军基地，与第23翼飞行虎队一起深入了解A-10的设计和能力，并有机会目睹其现场射击演示。A-10专为近距离空中支援设计，其设计简单、有效且生存能力强，能在美军直升机编队的缺口中发挥作用。A-10在海湾战争中声名鹊起，据报道摧毁了900多辆敌方坦克、2000辆军车、1200门火炮和两架直升机。A-10的标志性特征是其30毫米七管加特林炮，即GAU-8 Avenger，这是有史以来安装在飞机上最强大的枪械之一。

05:01

🛡 A-10的生存能力与操作特性

A-10的设计使其能够承受直接被穿甲弹和高爆弹击中。它的两个引擎位于后部机身，以最大程度地避免防空火力的打击。A-10的座舱由防弹玻璃制成，并被一英寸半厚的钛合金浴缸包围，保护飞行员和飞行控制系统。即使机炮发生故障并爆炸，也无法穿透由坚固的钛合金设计构成的座舱。A-10在敌方领土上执行任务时，飞行员可以依靠其耐用性。A-10还拥有许多冗余系统，从液压到电子到瞄准系统。特别是，它有一个手动备用飞行控制系统，即使在失去所有液压油的情况下也能继续飞行。此外，A-10的瞄准和武器精度非常高，它有一个独特的功能叫做PAC（精确增强控制），可以冻结飞行控制系统，确保在最终瞄准时获得最准确的射击。

10:04

🔥 A-10弹药装载与实弹演示

视频展示了A-10弹药装载的过程，使用了一种称为“Dragon”的弹药装载装配车，专门为GAU-8 Avenger设计。装载弹药是一个快速且高效的过程，需要30到45分钟来装载或卸载所有的弹药。A-10的弹药包括穿甲弹、高爆弹和训练弹，每发弹药重约三磅。视频的高潮部分是A-10在Grand Bay Bombing and Gunnery Range进行的实弹射击演示。从500米外的塔上观看，A-10对地面目标进行了扫射和轰炸，展示了其火力和精确度。A-10底部的黑色涂装设计为假座舱盖，用以迷惑敌方，使其难以判断A-10的上下方向。最后，视频对A-10 Warthog进行了总结，并感谢第23翼的帮助。

Keywords

💡A-10 Thunderbolt II

A-10 Thunderbolt II，也被称为Warthog，是一种标志性的攻击机，以其坚固耐用和火力强大而闻名。在视频中，它是讨论的核心，展示了其独特的设计和战斗能力。

💡GAU-8 Avenger

GAU-8 Avenger是A-10攻击机上装备的30毫米七管旋转机炮，它是迄今为止安装在飞机上的最强大的枪械之一。视频中提到，这种机炮每分钟可以射击3,900发，是A-10最标志性的特征之一。

💡Close Air Support (CAS)

近距空中支援（CAS）是指飞机在接近友军部队的距离上进行的支援行动。A-10设计用于CAS，以支持地面部队，当他们需要帮助时，会呼叫A-10进行支援。

💡Hard Points

硬点（Hard Points）是飞机上用于挂载武器或其他设备的位置。A-10拥有11个硬点，可以挂载各种武器，如AIM-9响尾蛇导弹、激光制导炸弹、GPS制导炸弹等。

💡Aerodynamic Design

空气动力学设计是A-10能够承受敌方火力的关键因素之一。A-10的设计允许飞机在被击中后仍能继续飞行，其两个引擎后置以提高生存能力，座舱周围由防弹玻璃和钛合金装甲保护。

💡Redundancy Systems

冗余系统是A-10飞机中的一种设计，它提供了备用的飞行控制系统，以防主要系统受损。视频中提到，即使液压系统失效，飞行员也可以通过手动重连飞行控制系统继续飞行。

💡LARS Radio

LARS无线电是A-10特有的一种无线电，专门用于战斗搜索和救援（CSAR）任务，允许飞行员与被击落的机组人员通信，帮助定位和救援。

💡Precision Augment Control (PAC)

精确增强控制（PAC）是A-10的一个独特功能，它能够在飞机进行最终攻击时冻结飞行控制系统，确保瞄准的精确性，从而提高射击的准确性。

💡Helmet-Mounted Cueing System

头盔瞄准系统允许飞行员通过头盔上的瞄准具将目标指示器指向他们正在观察的地面目标，从而加快锁定目标的过程。

💡Ammunition Loading Assembly (ALA)

弹药装载组件（ALA）是专门为GAU-8 Avenger设计的装弹车，用于将弹药装入A-10的机炮中。视频中提到，使用ALA可以大大加快装弹过程，手动装弹则几乎不可能完成。

💡Strafe Runs

扫射飞行（Strafe Runs）是A-10在执行近距空中支援任务时，对地面目标进行低空扫射的动作。飞行员需要在敌方火力下进行机动，以避免被击中并重新定位到安全位置。

Highlights

A-10 Thunderbolt II，也被称为Warthog，是一种标志性的攻击机，因其坚固和独特的外观而闻名。

A-10的设计是为了近距离空中支援，能在友军附近执行任务。

A-10在海湾战争中声名鹊起，据报道摧毁了900多辆敌方坦克和2000多辆军车。

A-10的30毫米七管加特林炮GAU-8 Avenger是历史上最强大的飞机炮之一。

GAU-8 Avenger能够以每秒70发的速度射击，每分钟3900发。

A-10的机翼有11个硬点，可以携带多种不同的武器和导弹。

A-10的主起落架设计得很大，以便能在恶劣的地面条件下起降。

A-10在设计上能够承受来自敌方火力的直接打击，具有极高的生存能力。

A-10的两个发动机后置，以提高在面对防空火力时的生存几率。

A-10的座舱周围有厚达1.5英寸的钛合金装甲，以保护飞行员和飞行控制系统。

A-10拥有手动备用飞行控制系统，即使液压系统失效也能继续飞行。

A-10配备了四个不同的无线电系统，包括专门用于战斗搜索和救援的LARS无线电。

A-10的瞄准和武器精度非常高，具有独特的PAC（精确增强控制）功能。

飞行员的头盔配备了头盔安装的瞄准系统，可以快速将瞄准吊舱对准飞行员视线所指的目标。

A-10的弹药装载使用特殊的装载车“Dragon”，以提高装载效率。

A-10的30毫米炮装载大约需要30到45分钟。

A-10在执行任务时通常会产生4到5个G的过载，而其G-suit保护飞行员免受过载的影响。

A-10底部的黑色涂装设计有假座舱盖，用以迷惑敌方，使其难以判断飞机的姿态。

A-10的GAU-8 Avenger炮在开火时产生的烟雾曾对发动机造成影响，后来通过改进燃烧室设计解决了这一问题。

Transcripts

(dramatic music)

(jet zooms)

- Whoa, ho-holy.

This is the A-10 Thunderbolt II,

an iconic attack aircraft that's essentially a flying tank.

(gun buzzing)

Now you've probably heard the A-10 referred to

by another name, the Warthog,

and that's due to its fierce, aggressive,

and distinctive appearance.

In fact, it's been said that the A-10 is the ugliest,

most beautiful aircraft on the planet.

Now, today I'm here at Moody Air Force Base

with the 23rd Wing Flying Tigers

to learn all about the A-10's incredible design

and capabilities.

But we're not just talking it theory

because we're gonna have the chance

to witness a live fire demonstration

that I promise you won't want to miss.

So just a warning,

you better strap in and prepare yourself

because this is the A 10 Warthog.

(exciting music)

(jet zooms)

(jet zooms)

- Sam, welcome to Moody.

- It's good to see you.

I'm here with Captain Josh Flores, call sign Phuego.

Now, Captain Flores and I actually went to school together

at the Air Force Academy.

We graduated in the same class.

I always knew you'd be doing big things.

But what can you tell us about this jet?

What's it like to fly the A-10?

- Yeah, Sam one word, it's incredible.

The jet was designed for close air support.

It's close proximity to friendly forces.

So those dudes on the ground,

when they need help, they call us.

But the best part is sitting right above

that 30-millimeter cannon.

- Well, I can't remember an aircraft

I've been more excited to see up close and in action.

But before we get there,

I do wanna cover a little bit of the background

on how this aircraft came to be.

The A-10 Warthog is truly unlike

any other aircraft in history.

Developed back in the 1970s,

it was built to fill the vital role of close air support

that was set by the US Air Force.

They needed an airplane that was simple,

effective, and survivable,

one that could fill in the gaps

of the US Army's helicopter fleet.

Essentially, they needed an attack helicopter,

but in airplane form.

And that's exactly what they got.

The A-10 rose to fame during the Gulf War

with various reports stating that it was responsible

for destroying more than 900 enemy tanks,

2,000 military vehicles,

1,200 pieces of artillery

and even two helicopters.

But while its record is impressive,

the design is really what's mind blowing.

And starting from the front,

you'll find the most iconic feature on the A-10,

the 30-millimeter seven-barrel Gatling gun

known as the GAU-8 Avenger.

It's one of the most powerful guns

to ever be strapped onto an aircraft,

making the GAU-8 Avenger the first gun in history

to get its own plane.

(bold music)

- Well, Sam, this is the GAU-8 Avenger,

our 30-millimeter cannon.

You see it's got seven barrels there,

can hold about 1,150 rounds of that 30 Mike Mike,

shoots at 70 rounds per second for 3,900 rounds per minute.

We got three different types of rounds.

You have your armor piercing, your high explosive,

and then your target practice round.

You can really think that high explosive

is almost like an individual hand grenade

comin' out of each barrel.

- So just doin' the math there,

70 rounds per second, 1,150 rounds total.

That's, what, roughly 20 seconds of freedom

you can pull that trigger.

Can you guys do that?

- Well, we try not to for the sake of the gun.

What we'll strive to do is about one-second

to two-second bursts.

It'll put about 100 rounds down on target

just to save ammo for multiple targets

and to keep the the gun healthy.

(jet zooms)

(gun buzzing)

(dramatic music)

(jet zooms) (gun buzzing)

All right, movin' on to the wings.

We've got 11 hard points,

or just pylons that are mounted on the wing

and then under the fuselage itself.

You can put a whole bunch of different stuff on here.

So we have your AIM-9 Mike right here,

an air-to-air missile.

You can carry a bunch of different bombs.

So you have our laser-guided bombs.

You have the GPS-guided bombs, small diameter bombs,

which give us a little more range,

all the way down to the Mark 82, just dumb bomb body kit.

You have the air to ground missile, AGM 65.

It's a tank killin' missile, right?

Just what this jet was built for.

This one's a Delta model, so it's IR seeking.

Then you have the main gear well here.

And if you take a look at how big that tire is,

it's built, basically, so we can take off and land

from austere locations.

Like, I'm sure you've seen the highway videos

or any dirt strips.

This jet was built for that.

- Yeah, and the few times I've seen the A-10 fly,

I was actually impressed with kind of its speed and agility.

I mean, I know it's not known for going fast or being agile,

but you guys can dive pretty steep

when you're doin' those strafe runs, huh?

- Yeah, well you gotta think where we're going into, right?

We're strafing a target, we're dropping bombs on a target.

Those people aren't gonna be real happy

that they're getting shot at, right?

So they're gonna start shooting back at us.

So we need that maneuverability to get out of the way,

return back to kind of a safer location

before we can roll in again.

- Now the damage the A-10 can inflict

on the battlefield is only half of what makes

this platform so incredible.

The other half is the damage the A-10 can withstand itself.

When flying close air support missions,

oftentimes you're in the direct line of enemy fire.

And so durability is vital.

The A-10's design allows the aircraft

to survive direct hits from armor piercing

and high explosive projectiles.

Its two engines are mounted on the rear fuselage,

giving them the best chance of surviving anti-aircraft fire.

The canopy is made up of bulletproof glass,

and the cockpit is surrounded

by an inch-and-a-half thick titanium tub

that protects both the pilot and the flight controls.

Even if the gun itself were to malfunction and explode,

it wouldn't be able to penetrate the cockpit

due to the robust titanium design.

So when A-10 pilots are flying in enemy territory,

taking on enemy fire, what's going through your head?

I mean, I know this aircraft is incredibly durable,

so that's gotta be pretty comforting,

knowing it takes what quite a lot to bring this thing down.

- Yeah, absolutely.

So I mean, you have the first thing,

you have the titanium bathtub that's right under you,

protecting it from small arm fire, right?

But there's also tons of redundancies built into this jet,

from the hydraulics to the electronics

to our targeting system.

One of the most iconic things

is the manual reversion flight control system.

So, there have been jets that lost

all of their hydraulic fluid

where traditionally you'd need that to fly, right?

You just flip this little lever over

and then you're flying like with pulleys and cables

like you did 60 years ago.

So it does, it takes quite a lot to take it down,

and it's pretty comforting knowing that.

(exciting music)

So I'm in the cockpit.

There are a couple of things that I wanna point out

that are unique to the A-10,

starting with our radios down here.

So the A-10 has four different radios.

A couple of those are for interflight

between the flight lead and the wingman.

But there's one specific radio that's important to the A-10.

That's the LARS radio.

That's a combat search and rescue specific radio

that lets us talk to downed air crew.

So when we're doing our CSARs,

it helps us communicate with them and find where they're at.

Moving on, we've got our armory control panel here.

That arms up the gun and any other weapons we have

on the jet.

We've got our two multi-function displays here

where we can throw up a moving map

that lets us see pretty much the whole battlefield

or targeting pod or any other sort of information

we want to get.

We've got our countermeasure system here

to protect us while we're flying.

And then finally our computer

where we input grids and coordinates

so that we can plot those on that moving map.

Most importantly though, we have the center stick, right?

You got your pickle button out here for bombs and missiles

and then you got the trigger down here.

- So when you're sitting here and you pull that trigger,

I mean, I imagine the recoil is pretty crazy.

What's that feel like?

- So surprisingly, there's not really any recoil, right?

I've heard a lot of people say,

you know, when you shoot the A-10, it stops in flight.

That's not true. (Sam laughs)

But it does shake violently,

and you can see in our HUD the whole thing shakes

and you almost lose what you're lookin' at.

You can feel the vibrations throughout the cockpit

and then you can smell the gun gas,

all that gunpowder come through the cockpit.

It's pretty awesome.

- Now, an A-10 being a relatively slower jet

than like a fighter jet,

how many Gs do you guys typically pull on a mission?

- So, it depends.

We can pull up to just a little over seven Gs.

That doesn't happen too often,

but typically on a mission in our safe escape maneuver

getting away from the ground,

we'll pull anywhere between four to five Gs.

So that's pretty standard what you see

on any kind of sortie that we fly.

- And you guys do wear G suits though, right?

- Oh yeah, we wear a G suit every sortie we fly.

- So when it comes to the targeting

and accuracy of the weapons,

I mean, is there anything you're doing up here?

Is that a complex process? How precise is it?

- Yeah, so it's kind of a a two-part answer there.

As far as targeting, you know, we'll get the grids

that we put on our computer,

and then we can look in our targeting pod.

That's really gonna give us very specific location

where that is.

Now, when it comes time to roll in,

the A-10 has a very unique feature

called PAC, precision augment control.

And what that does

is it basically freezes the flight controls.

So when you're down final and you're pointing your gun,

your cross hairs aren't moving.

It's to pretty much ensure that when you're down final,

you're gonna get the most accurate shot.

- And I know your helmet's a little unique too.

I see you got a cool little monocle there.

What's that all about?

- So, right here,

you have the helmet-mounted queuing system.

And what this allows the A-10 pilot to do

is wherever we look down on the ground,

we can slave our targeting pod to wherever we're looking.

So I'll look down on the ground right there,

and I'll tell my targeting pod,

"I want you to look also at that spot,"

and that really helps us expedite the targeting process.

(bold exciting music)

♪ Let's get out and reach it ♪

(exciting music continues)

- Now, before we can witness the live fire demonstration,

the aircraft of course needs to be loaded.

However, on the A-10, that process is a little bit unique.

This is the ammunition loading assembly cart,

also known as the Dragon.

And it's made specifically for the GAU-8 Avenger.

And we're about to get an up close look at how it works.

♪ The kid's on the wind ♪

♪ We're ready to jump ♪

♪ No parachute ♪

♪ We're flyin' straight to the sun ♪

- So what you're about to see is us actually use the ALA.

And what we're gonna start with is we're gonna start

with the rounds that enter this section right here.

They travel all the way down these chutes.

They travel around and through this table,

and they go out of that head into the jet.

So the reason why we have to use this machine

is because it would be physically impossible

to take all those rounds

and put 'em into the jet one by one.

It'd also be unethical. It would take forever.

So this machine is to expedite it.

It's to make it quicker and a lot more efficient

so that we can get the rounds in the jet

so they can do their job.

- So how long does it take

to completely load up the A-10 gun?

- So that's a great question.

It's gonna take on average around 30 to 45 minutes

to install all rounds, and if it's necessary,

to take rounds out of the jet as well.

- So 45 minutes to load it.

About 20 seconds, I learned,

to completely get rid of all that.

Pretty crazy.

(bold exciting music)

- All right, so if you come follow me,

I'll show you the rounds that we're gonna put into the jet.

- All right, what do we got here?

- All right, so right here you've got your ammo cans.

It's 575 rounds per can,

and it takes two cans to fully upload the jet.

- So literally stacked from bottom to top,

We have 30-millimeter rounds.

For those of you watching, this is one right here.

So it actually is probably a little bigger

than a Coke can and Coke bottle, I guess.

And what do you say, it weighs about three pounds?

- About three pounds.

And you know what?

I think it's time that we fire up the dragon and load it.

(exciting music)

- So the A-10 gun is now fully loaded,

and I was just told we're gonna have a few other surprises

in store to drop out on the range.

This right here is what I've been waiting for.

So if you're ready, let's get it.

(bold music)

- I'm here at the Grand Bay Bombing and Gunnery Range,

just a few miles to the east of Moody Air Force Base.

And this is gonna be our playground for the live fire demo.

Now, I'm standing on a tower about 500 meters away

from the impact area, which consists of a strafing zone

and various conexes that the A-10s are gonna target.

I was told this is the closest I can be for safety,

which I am totally okay with.

Normally, I'm up for getting a little bit closer

for the action, but for this, nah, I'm cool hanging back.

(bold exciting music)

(jet zooms)

(gun buzzing)

So that sound you just heard from the 30-millimeter gun

is probably the most iconic gun sound in the world.

And if you listen closely, you'll actually hear two sounds.

The first is the rounds actually hitting the target

'cause the rounds travel faster than the speed of sound.

And the second sound is the gun itself.

It's a lot more mechanical sounding,

and that's 'cause of that seven-barrel spinning and firing.

It's pretty cool.

(bold music)

(gun buzzing)

Now, if you look on the bottom of the A-10,

you may notice some black paint at the top,

and that's actually a false canopy.

It was designed to confuse the enemy

on whether the A-10 was right side up or right side down.

And especially in air-to-air combat

when an aircraft is turning left or turning right,

even a split second of indecision from the enemy

can make all the difference.

(gun buzzing)

(gun buzzing)

So, if you remember back when Captain Flores mentioned

when he fires the gun in the cockpit,

he can actually smell the smoke.

Well, when the A-10 was originally being developed,

they realized that the gun could actually damage the engines

and choke them out 'cause they weren't getting enough oxygen

from all that smoke from the gun.

So what they did is they modified it

and built a special combustion chamber,

which is what are on these aircraft now.

So now there's no issue.

When you're firing that gun, aircraft can fly just fine.

(bold dramatic music)

(jet zooms)

(gun buzzing)

(explosions booming)

(jet zooms)

(flares whooshing)

Well, there you have it, the incredible A-10 Warthog.

I hope you enjoyed getting an up-close look

at this iconic aircraft.

I know I'm gonna need a little bit of time

to recover after this one.

It was pretty crazy.

I do wanna thank the 23rd Wing

for helping make this video happen.

Make sure to subscribe if you haven't already

so you don't miss out on any future videos,

and I'll catch you next time.

(jet zooms)

(exciting music continues)