User:DnaGonite/A-10A Late
| This page is about the American strike aircraft U38088265/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 single biggest downside with the A-10 is its top speed. At 642 km/h at sea level, the A-10A is the slowest aircraft at its BR. Not enough emphasis can be put on how much of a disadvantage the A-10's speed is, especially at a battle rating of 10.0, where apart from another A-10, every single aircraft it faces will have at least a 400 km/h faster top speed.
Despite how crippling the A-10's speed is, there are a handful of advantages to being so slow. First, while it is slow, it still is manoeuvrable at those low speeds, even with a heavy weapon loadout. It also means that its turn time is tight and quick compared to supersonic aircraft.
| 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 |
| X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 874 | 370.4 | N/A | 740 | 370 | ~__ | ~__ |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 550 | < 650 | < 500 | N/A |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | |||||
| General Electric TF34-GE-100A | 2 | 11,636 kg | ___ kg/m2 | |||||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Takeoff Weight | ||||||
| Weight (each) | Type | 14m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 45m fuel | 48m fuel | ||
| 654 kg | High-bypass turbofan | 13,092 kg | 13,651 kg | 14,659 kg | 16,170 kg | 16,489 kg | _,___ kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%) | |||||||
| Condition | 100% | WEP | 14m fuel | 20m fuel | 30m fuel | 45m fuel | 48m fuel | MTOW |
| Stationary | 4,036 kgf | N/A | 0.62 | 0.59 | 0.55 | 0.50 | 0.49 | _.__ |
| Optimal | 4,036 kgf (0 km/h) |
N/A | 0.62 | 0.59 | 0.55 | 0.50 | 0.49 | _.__ |
Survivability and armour
The A-10A has substantial armour around the cockpit, fuel tanks, and transmission. This armour effectively protects the pilot from machine gun fire and autocannons up to 25mm. 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, so do not expect to tank such attacks.
- 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 whopping 480 countermeasures. This gives an extended and effective protection against even the most potent heat-seeking missiles it will face. A good strategy is to turn on periodic countermeasures upon entering a battle. The constant flares will make you practically immune to IR guided missiles, and since the A-10A has so many countermeasures, you won’t have to worry about running out as you will probably still be left with a large amount provided you survive.
