A-10A Late
| This page is about the American strike aircraft A-10A Late. For the premium version, see A-10A. |
Contents
Description
The A-10A Thunderbolt II (Late) is a rank VII American strike aircraft with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB) and 10.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Wind of Change".
General info
Flight performance
The A-10A Late has a low top speed but retains its manoeuvrability, even with a heavy weapon loadout. The A-10A's low speed means that it will be difficult to reach enemy ground units and bases without being intercepted. Additionally, this makes the A-10 especially vulnerable to both attacking aircraft and SAMs. Another problem with being so slow is that it is very easy to get energy trapped. This means that any common enemy aircraft can simply fly above the A-10, and with its slow speed, it simply has no chance to follow and get in range to use its gun. After the A-10 inevitably pitches back down (or stalls), the enemy aircraft will dive down on the slow and vulnerable A-10. While the A-10 can utilize its all-aspect AIM-9Ls to potentially dispatch aircraft lacking flares before they can initiate an energy trap, flare-equipped aircraft should never be engaged unless absolutely necessary as it will likely result in the A-10's destruction.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 624 | 609 | 12497 | 30.2 | 30.8 | 21.0 | 19.9 | 700 |
| Upgraded | 662 | 642 | 28.5 | 29.0 | 30.3 | 25.3 | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 0 | 370.4 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ~__ | ~__ |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < ___ | < ___ | < ___ | N/A |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | |||
| _____ | _ | _,___ kg | ___ kg/m2 | |||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Takeoff Weight | ||||
| Weight (each) | Type | _m fuel | __m fuel | __m fuel | ||
| ___ kg | ___ | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (___%/WEP) | |||||
| Condition | 100% | ___%/WEP | _m fuel | __m fuel | __m fuel | MTOW |
| Stationary | ___ kgf | ___ kgf | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Optimal | ___ kgf (_ km/h) |
___ kgf (_ km/h) |
_.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
Survivability and armour
The A-10A has substantial armour around the cockpit, fuel tanks, and transmission. This armour is mostly effective toward autocannons up to 25 mm calibre.
- 38 mm titanium alloy - "bathtub" around the bottom of the cockpit
- 44 mm bulletproof glass (54°) - windshield in front of the pilot
The A-10A is equipped with a whooping 480 countermeasures. This gives an extended and effective protection against even the most potent heat-seeking missiles it will face. However, while the pilot has ample armour protection, the other parts of the plane, such as the wing, tail and especially the unarmoured and exposed engines, will easily be destroyed by any short cannon burst.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) | CCRP (Bombs) |
 |
|
|
|
Offensive armament
The A-10A Late is armed with:
- A choice between two presets:
- 1 x 30 mm GAU-8/A cannon, chin-mounted (1,174 rpg)
- 1 x 30 mm GAU-8/A cannon + 480 x countermeasures
Suspended armament
The A-10A Late can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 2 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
- 42 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets
- 84 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets
- 84 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets + 4 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
- 10 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (5,000 lb total)
- 12 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (6,000 lb total)
- 12 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs + 4 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles (6,000 lb total)
- 6 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs (12,000 lb total)
- 6 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs + 4 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles (12,000 lb total)
- 6 x AGM-65D missiles
- 6 x AGM-65D missiles + 4 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
- 4 x AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
Usage in battles
The A-10A Late is specifically designed to attack ground targets. The AGM-65Ds and Mk 84s provide substantial firepower against armoured ground units. When within range, the 30 mm GAU-8 cannon can be used: the gun may lack penetration power against armour, but is excellent at destroying exterior modules and inflicting damage by overpressure.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good manoeuvrability
- Good armour protection around the cockpit area that will protect the pilot
- 480 countermeasures are extremely effective against common heat-seeking missiles
- Devastating cannon with a large ammo pool
- Great payload options for ground attack
- Access to four all-aspect AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
Cons:
- Extremely poor top speed makes it an easy prey
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
- Videos
pictures
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| Fairchild Aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Jet aircraft | A-10A · A-10A Late · A-10C |
| USA jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | |
| F9F | F9F-2 · F9F-5 · F9F-8 |
| F-80 | F-80A-5 · F-80C-10 |
| F-84 | F-84B-26 · F-84F · F-84G-21-RE |
| F-86 | F-86A-5 · F-86F-25 · F-86F-2 · F-86F-35 |
| F-89 | F-89B · F-89D |
| F-100 | F-100D |
| F-104 | F-104A · F-104C |
| F-4 | F-4C Phantom II · F-4E Phantom II · F-4J Phantom II · F-4S Phantom II |
| F-5 | F-5A · F-5C · F-5E · F-20A |
| F-8 | F8U-2 · F-8E |
| F-14 | F-14A Early · ▄F-14A IRIAF · F-14B |
| F-15 | F-15A · F-15C MSIP II · F-15E |
| F-16 | F-16A · F-16A ADF · F-16C |
| Other | P-59A · F2H-2 · F3D-1 · F3H-2 · F4D-1 · F11F-1 |
| Strike Aircraft | |
| FJ-4 | FJ-4B · FJ-4B VMF-232 |
| A-4 | A-4B · A-4E Early |
| A-7 | A-7D · A-7E · A-7K |
| AV-8 | AV-8A · AV-8C · AV-8B Plus · AV-8B (NA) |
| A-10 | A-10A · A-10A Late · A-10C |
| F-111 | F-111A · F-111F |
| Other | A-6E TRAM · F-105D · F-117 |
| Bombers | |
| B-57 | B-57A · B-57B |
