STAFF SGT. Joseph Labaska steadies a Mark 82 500-pound bomb on the arm of an MJ-1 weapons loader as he and the loader's driver, AIRMAN John Eskat, arm an A-10A Thunderbolt aircraft from the 343rd Tactical Fighter Wing during the joint readiness Exercise Arctic Warrior '91. Labaska and Eskat are members of the 343rd Aircraft Generation Squadron
Summary
The original finding aid described this photograph as:
Base: Eielson Air Force Base
State: Alaska(AK)
Country: United States Of America(USA)
Scene Camera Operator: MASTER SGT. Ed Boyce
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.
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