posted on Feb, 11 2015 @ 10:29 AM
The US has redeployed 12 A-10 Thunderbolts to Germany. After a brief time there the planes will be shifted to Eastern European NATO members in
operation Atlantic Resolve.
www.businessinsider.com...
The Warthog has been a political hot potato for a few years now as the US Congress has tried to retire the planes but widespread admiration for the
fighting platform among military ranks has kept it alive. The Warthog was specifically designed to destroy Soviet tanks back in the 70's. It was most
recently pressed into service against ISIS in a bid to demonstrate ongoing usefulness of the plane. The sound of the 7 barrel Gatling gun is music to
an US infantryman's ears when firefights get ugly. Something about putting 3,900 rounds of 30mm armor piercing lead on a target every minute really
discourages the enemy. Despite this the plane is considered obsolete and too easy to bring down with today's anti-air weapons and it's need to be up
close to targets.
www.wired.com...
The latest deployment to Eastern Europe is clearly going to upset the Kremlin. It's unlikely the Warthog's would every see any action in Ukraine
however the inclusion of them in military exercises will boost morale of the Baltic NATO members. The planes stick out as one of the ugliest every
built and move slow while dumping huge amounts of ordinance on targets.
A symbolic deployment for sure, but all shifts of military weapons to Eastern Europe at this time need to be carefully monitored.
edit on
11-2-2015 by noeltrotsky because: typo