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A Pioneer I remotely-piloted vehicle (RPV) is launched during a rocket-booster assisted takeoff from the stern of the battleship USS IOWA (BB-61). The RPV, which carries a stabilized television camera and a laser designator, is being tested aboard the IOWA as a basic gunfire support system with over-the-horizon targeting and reconnaissance capabilities. The system may be operated out to a range of 110 miles from the battleship surface group and has an endurance of eight hours
A Pioneer I Remotely-Piloted Vehicle (RPV) is launched during a rocket-booster assisted takeoff from the stern of the battleship USS IOWA (BB-61). The RPV, which carries a stabilized television camera and a laser designator, is being tested aboard the IOWA as a basic gunfire support system with over-the-horizon targeting and reconnaissance capabilities. The system may be operated out to a range of 110 miles from the battleship surface group and has an endurance of eight hours
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A FIM-92 Stinger surface-to-air missile strikes a target
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An F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft releases a decoy flare during Exercise COPE THUNDER '86-3. During the exercise more than 60 aircraft from the US and the Far East will be pitted against each other in daily combat scenarios, dogfights and bomb runs
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An A-10C Thunderbolt II "Warthog" aircraft performs
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Summary
The original finding aid described this photograph as:
Base: Fort Irwin
State: California (CA)
Country: United States Of America (USA)
Scene Camera Operator: TSGT Rob Marshall
Release Status: Released to Public
Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files
The A-10 Thunderbolt has excellent maneuverability at low airspeeds and altitude and is a highly accurate and survivable weapons-delivery platform. Called the “Warthog” for its aggressive look and often painted with teeth on the nose cone, the A-10 Thunderbolt II is the U.S. Air Force’s primary low-altitude close air support aircraft best known for its GAU-8 Avenger 30mm Gatling gun designed to fire armor-piercing depleted uranium and high explosive incendiary rounds. In the 1970s the threat of Soviet armored forces and all-weather attack operations had become more serious. Six companies submitted aircraft proposals, with Northrop and Fairchild-Republic selected to build prototypes: the YA-9A and YA-10A, respectively. General Electric and Philco-Ford were selected to build and test GAU-8 cannon prototypes. First A-10 was delivered to the U.S. Air Force on 30 March 1976. By 1984, 715 airplanes had been built.