US Air Force (USAF) Technical Sergeant (TSGT) Chuck Strozier, an A-10A Thunderbolt II aircraft Crew CHIEF assigned to the 717th Maintenance Squadron (MXS), Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB) Louisiana (LA), cleans the windshield of his aircraft while deployed at England Air Park, in Alexandria, LA, to support Hawgsmoke 2004, a bi-annual bombing and tactical gunnery competition for USAF squadrons flying the A-10A Thunderbolt II aircraft. (SUBSTANDARD)

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.