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Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
Credit: Senior Airman Greg L. Davis, USAF
The
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
is a single-seat, twin-engine
jet aircraft
designed to provide
close air support
of ground forces by attacking
tanks
,
armored vehicles
, and other ground targets. It is the first
US Air Force
aircraft designed exclusively for
close air support
. The A-10 was developed in response to the increasing vulnerability of ground attack-planes to
ground air defenses
. This indicated the need for a specialized, heavily armored aircraft with long loiter time and large ordnance load, much like the
Ilyushin Il-2
or
A-1 Skyraider
.
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