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 Since
the last Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft
departed from their home base at RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk in
1993, the once familiar sight of these unusual shaped aircraft
has been extremely rare in the county in this Eastern corner
of England. For almost the entire
month of April 2005, anyone in the East
coast area could have been forgiven for thinking they
had entered a time warp, as the skies of Suffolk were
again graced by these wonderful aircraft. Mick Freer reports from RAF Lakenheath, with some photographic assistance from his son Stuart. |
Back To The Forefront: Pilots of some thirteen A-10A and OA-10A aircraft from the
81st Fighter Squadron (FS) of the 52nd
Fighter Wing (FW)
flew from their home airfield at Spangdahlem in Germany,
to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk on 7th April 2005, to take
part in Exercise ‘Vanguard’. The aircraft arrived to take part in the three week exercise and were using radio call-signs “Panther 11-14”, “Panther 21-24”, “Panther 31-33” and “Panther 41-42”. The word, ‘Vanguard’, is a noun with the meaning, ‘leading position in any movement or field’, or ‘at the forefront’, which therefore makes it a perfect name for the exercise. This United States Forces Europe (USAFE) exercise was designed to provide pilots with post-deployment training, on returning from recent operations in Afghanistan and also to practice the Expeditionary Fighter Squadron process. Daily missions were flown and the exercise involved Forward Air Control (FAC), Close Air Support (CAS) and Combat Search & Rescue (CSAR). |
‘Buddies’: Before the A-10s arrived at RAF
Lakenheath, a pair of Sikorsky HH-60G Pave
Hawk helicopters from the 56th Rescue Squadron (RQS) arrived nearby RAF
Mildenhall, from their home base
at Keflavik in Iceland. The two (serial numbers 89-26208 and 89-26212) made the journey inside a Lockheed
C-5A Galaxy transport aircraft, serial number 68-0226, from the 137th
Airlift Squadron (AS), with the New
York Air National Guard.
The two helicopters operated from RAF Mildenhall throughout
the exercise, operating alongside the A-10As in CSAR missions.
They were noted operating at the live firing range at RAF
Donna Nook on 18th April, when they performed air to ground
firing, from the mini-guns on board and were present again
on 22nd, using their regular radio call-sign of “Jolly”.
At the conclusion of the exercise, they made the long return
journey to Iceland on 27th April, again inside the giant
C-5A Galaxy, this time aircraft serial number 69-0021 but
again from the 137th AS, which arrived at RAF
Mildenhall on 26th April. |
| Local ‘Players’: Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles from the resident 492nd FS of the 48th FW at RAF Lakenheath, were also involved in the exercise and flew practice dissimilar aircraft platform missions, against the A-10s. The 351st Air Refuelling Squadron (ARS) of the 100th Air Refuelling Wing (ARW) from RAF Mildenhall acted as air to air refuelling ‘tanker’ support for the missions. An example of this was monitored on the airwaves on 19th April, when a KC-135R, using the radio call-sign “Lager61” refuelled A-10s, using the call-sign “Gumby81 flight”, after they had been operating in the Welsh low fly area. |
Hog Hunting: During the first week of their deployment to RAF
Lakenheath,
the A-10A’s were very active participants in a ‘Fast
Moving’ exercise, being conducted in the South
West of England. Their role was to provide CAS and work with
Forward Air Controllers. The 81st
FS was soon in action
and on 11th April, call-sign “Derby
21-24”,
a flight of four A-10As were noted operating in the Hereford area, no doubt in the support of ‘The
Regiment’ of
local fame!  During operations over South
West England and Wales,
the “Magic” call-sign
of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)
control was provided by E-3D Sentry aircraft
of number 8 and 23 Squadrons,
from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.
An example of this was monitored on April 19th when an E-3D,
call-sign “NATO26” was
controlling A-10s, again using the call-sign “Gumby81-82”,
which were heard on frequency 293.570MHz. |
For those interested in the air band side of the hobby,
radio call-signs noted during the three week deployment were; “Angle”, “Bo-Sox”, “Bullseye”, “Concrete”, “Contour”, Cordon”, “Derby”, “Gumby”, “Lampoon” and “Rembrandt”.
For those interested in the serial number side of the hobby, details of the aircraft which were detached to RAF Lakenheath can be seen below.
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When not operating in the South West
of England, the East
Coast live firing ranges were used for weapons practice,
with the A-10s making regular appearances at RAF
Donna Nook,
RAF Holbeach and RAF Wainfleet. On 25th April at RAF
Donna Nook several A-10s took part in a ‘Turkey
Shoot’,
which is a small local competition, held on the gunnery range,
once a regular occurrence in the early 1980s, when A-10s
were almost daily visitors to the range, from their home
airfields at RAF Bentwaters and RAF
Woodbridge in Suffolk.
Another interesting event took place at the live firing range at RAF Holbeach on 21st April, when a Global Power Training Mission took place. This involved a B-2A Spirit bomber aircraft and its aircrew from the 509th Bombardment Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, USA, making a non-stop flight to Britain, to drop ammunition on the range and then return directly to its home base in the USA. A full report of this event can be found here http://www.fightercontrol.co.uk/new/news/archive/apr18.htm |
‘End Ex’: After an intense period of operations, the pilots from the
81st FS returned to their home base at Spangdahlem in Germany on
29th April, ending a successful detachment to the country
that once was their home!
The RAF Lakenheath Public Affairs Office told Fighter Control, “Exercise ‘Vanguard’ “provided the opportunity for the USAFE to test their capabilities against allied pilots and aircraft, who are acting as ‘aggressors’. Normally, such exercises are conducted in the United States but by using RAF Lakenheath, it has proved to be logistically easier.” Let’s hope this is a trend that is set to continue! Mick Freer, with thanks to the Public Affairs Office at RAF Lakenheath. |
| THE A-10 THUNDERBOLT (WARTHOG) – A PROFILE: (With great thanks to airforce-technology.com) The A-10 Thunderbolt is also known as the ‘Warthog’, the ‘Flying Gun’ and the ‘Tankbuster’. The aircraft was used extensively during Operation Desert Storm, in support of NATO operations in response to the Kosovo crisis, in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The A-10 is a high-survivability and versatile aircraft, popular with pilots for the ‘get home’ effectiveness. The mission of the aircraft is ground attack against tanks, armoured vehicles and installations, and close air support of ground forces. The aircraft is suitable for operation from forward air bases, with short take-off and landing capability. The aircraft has a long range (800 miles) and endurance and can loiter in the battle area. The manoeuvrability at low speed and at low altitude (below 1,000ft) allows accurate and effective targeting and weapon delivery over all types of terrain. The first flight of the A-10 was in May 1972, and a total of 707 aircraft have since been produced. Originally manufactured by Fairchild, since 1987 the prime contractor for the A-10 has been Northrop Grumman, which carries out support and structural upgrade programs from the Integrated Systems and Aerostructures Divisions at Bethpage, New York and at St Augustine in Florida. Over 350 A-10 aircraft are in service with the US Air Force, Air Combat Command, the US Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard. Precision Engagement Upgrade Program: The Precision Engagement upgrade program for the A-10 includes enhanced precision target engagement capabilities, which will allow the deployment of precision weapons such as JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) and Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD), as well as enabling an extension of the aircraft's service life to 2028. Improvements include: two new multifunction cockpit displays, situational awareness data links, digital stores management system, Integrated Flight and Fire Control Computer (IFFCC) from BAE Systems Platform Solutions for automated continuously computed weapons delivery, Litening AT or Sniper XR targeting pod for precision-guided weapons and helmet-mounted sighting system. Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Oswego is prime contractor for the program. First flight of the upgraded A-10C was in January 2005. Low rate initial production is planned to start in 2005. Up to 125 A-10 aircraft are to be upgraded by 2009. A parallel program will give the A-10 new engine pylons. It is possible that the A-10 engine will also be upgraded if funding is made available. In February 2004, Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract for the integration of the Sniper XR targeting pod on the A-10 as part of the PE program. Sniper XR includes mid-wave FLIR (forward-looking infrared), dual mode laser, CCD-TV, laser spot tracker and IR marker. Cockpit: The single-seat cockpit is protected by all-round armor, with a titanium 'bathtub' structure to protect the pilot that is up to 3.8cm thick. The cockpit has a large bulletproof bubble canopy, which gives good all-round vision. The cockpit is equipped with a head-up display, which is used for targeting and weapon aiming, a Have-Quick secure radio communications system, inertial navigation and a tactical air navigation (TACAN) system. Lockheed Martin has begun delivery of 21 USAF A-10 aircraft with the embedded global positioning system/inertial navigation system (EGI), which pinpoints the exact location of the aircraft. The aircraft are also to be fitted with BAE Systems terrain profile matching systems (TERPROM). The pilot is equipped with night-vision goggles and also the infrared imaging display of the Maverick AGM-65. Weapons: The aircraft has eleven stores pylons, providing an external load capacity of 7,260kg. There are three pylons under the fuselage and the loads can be configured to use either the centre-line pylon or the two flanking fuselage pylons. For weapon guidance, the aircraft can be fitted with Pave Penny laser guidance/electronic support measures, pod installed on the starboard fuselage pylon. Each wing carries four stores pylons: three outboard and one inboard of the wheel fairing. The A-10 can carry up to ten Maverick air-to-surface missiles. The Raytheon Maverick AGM-65 missile uses a variety of guidance systems, including imaging infrared guidance and warheads, including a high-penetration, 57kg conical-shaped charge warhead. Range is more than 45km. The A-10 can also carry the Sidewinder air-to-air missile, which is an all-aspect short-range missile with maximum speed over Mach 2. The A-10 is capable of deploying a wide range of ordnance: for example, the LDGP Mk 82 226kg, 500lb general-purpose bombs, BLU-1 and BLU-27/B Rockeye II cluster bombs and the cluster bomb unit CBU-52/71. The Northrop Grumman Litening ER (Extended Range) targeting pod has been successfully integrated on an A-10. Litening ER features a 640 x 512 pixel thermal imager, CCD TV, laser spot tracker/rangefinder, IR marker and laser designator. The aircraft is armed with a General Dynamics GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm cannon, mounted in the nose of the aircraft. Using the cannon, the A-10 is capable of disabling a main battle tank from a range of over 6,500m. The cannon can fire a range of ammunition; including armor-piercing incendiary rounds (API) weighing up to 0.75kg, or uranium-depleted 0.43kg API rounds. The magazine can hold 1,350 rounds of ammunition. The pilot can select a firing rate of 2,100 or 4,200 rounds per minute. Engines: The two non-afterburning turbo fan engines, TF34-GE-100, supplied by General Electric, each supply 9,065lb thrust. The location of the engines, high on the fuselage, allows the pilot to fly the aircraft fairly easily with one engine inoperable. |