Most stats by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune; A-10 stats can be found HERE). Background by Lt Col Andering "SKID" REDDSON.
US Air Force Flag.
Terran American Empire Air Force.
A-10 Thunderbolt II.
US Air Force Flag.
Terran American Empire Air Force.
As the Global Civil War wound up, the Unificationists, of which the United States, Britain, and Germany (along with others) were members, were engaged against the Anti-Unificationists who were making
A-10 THUNDERBOLT II.
A-10 Line Drawing.
A-10 NAW.
"Night All Weather" Variant.
significant gains with superior numbers, especially on moderately vegetated terrain (such as forests) where ample cover and concealment were to be found, but not entangling, for infantry troops.
Though the US had officially retired the A-10's schematics, making construction of new ones impossible, the Air Force still had hundreds, plus hundreds more at ARMARC and hundreds more in the service of various allies around the world- Not all of them CURRENT allies at the time, however, such as Egypt (which, in a surprising betrayal, switched to the Anti-Unificationists when the Israelis declared neutrality, clearing the way for the Egyptians to declare War on the Israelis, forcing them into the War kicking and screaming).
The USAF began deploying the A-10 to counter this increasing threat; Unfortunately, because it had been designed to destroy tanks, rather than infantry, it wasn't as effective as the program managers had hoped. Nevertheless, the program was an overall success.
The UGC never approved the A-10 for deployment, but some factions have nonetheless. There's really very little the UGC can do about it if they deploy them out of their own funds. The old fashion A-10 is moderately popular with mercs, and have been seen in the possession of Ator and T'sentraedi malconts; Colonies are known to use them as well.
Airframe:
The A-10 uses a relativeily simple steel ribbed airframe, compartmentalized every 5 feet.
Powerplant:
Because the A-10 was not and is not intended for space service and is fundamentally incompatible with service outside an atmosphere, the plane is powered by a pair of relatively simple GE TF34-GE-250D hydro-cell turbofan generating 12,065 lbs thrust each. A dual-phase aeration kit "could" be built (around 12,000credit,) but there simply is no such market, not even in the malcontent factions. It's just ridiculous.
Flight Systems:
Like most atmospheric craft, the primary flight system is airfoil effect; However, grav pods are usually installed, and more than one pilot has used those pods to hide in stands of trees or ravines to pop up on an otherwise unsuspecting target- Including a formation of 5 UGC Marine Veritechs on FBX 21555320.
Weapons Systems:
The primary weapons system on the A-10 is the GAU-8a Avenger, with a secondary being missiles and bombs.
The Primary weapons system on the NAW variant is the M-61A2b Vulcan, with a secondary being the A-11/f jamming pod, and tertiary of missiles and bombs.
Variants:
The Terran American Air Forces, which originally developed the A-10, had a single unit converted to 2 seat configuration and desiganed "Night All Weather." This variant never saw follow up development, and the one example ended up on static display until Kara Qalliph Diel'are Kah Yar, when the base was literally removed from the face of the earth; Those blueprints were lost, but the simple fact that many references to its existence were made (including one video of the plane in flight) made the challenge of re-development relatively simple. Instead of "night all weather" duties, the NAW variant was specifically fitted for anti-aircraft defense suppression- Destroying radar and AA Missile batteries (it's also effective against AA gun emplacements, but those are relatively rare). The "strange" decision to use an "antique" gun like the M-61 struck many as odd when considered next to the L-02 (or even -08, which could fit in the airframe as well), but proof was in the pudding when an NAW crew penetrated an REF air defense network and simulated the elimination of all the air defenses- For the state of Florida. Had this been an actual attack, the entire state would have been in jeopardy; They even managed to destroy or disable several ground and sea defense radar and related networks before an A/FG-44 Raptor literally stumbled onto them and obtained a "confirmed" kill. This despite the fact that "Naw Thanx" (the NAW variant) had in fact engaged multiple A/FG-36 Hornet's and forced their withdrawal (though they weren't destroyed).
A tail-gunned version was also proposed, and a single unit flown, but this was not a particularly effective variant, and the sole example was converted back to the NAW variant it started out as.
A terrorist group developed a three-engine tilt-wing variant with a mid-frame turret, but this wasn't the spectacular success they hoped. The mid-frame turret however was retained in the A/BG-20.
Redundancies:
The A-10 was designed with redundancies of redundancies; Neither engine is inside the airframe, but rather in a nacelle OUTSIDE of it; As a result, if one is hit, damage doesn't spread to the other. Each wing is half again as big as is needed for the planes to fly; One can be blown clear off, and the plane will still make it back to base (though landing will be "a little rough").1 The tail gear, likewise, is much larger than needs to be, and if you destroy one, the other will take her home safe. The Fly By Wire leads are triple redundant, so if one set of leads is destroyed two more remain on line (redundancies with the leads was relatively easy). The titanium "bathtub" cockpit was a first, though since copied more or less extensively.2 But the most innovative part was the landing gear; In the event that one of the landing gear is damaged and can not deploy, the simple fact that they stick out like they do means the plane will still land "more or less" safely (sometimes a bit on the "less" than "more" side).
UGC Standing:
The UGC is simply not interested in the A-10, though the A-10 NAW variant (and specifiallay Naw Thanx) did impress them enough to authorize the building of a new VWC system based on the M-61A2b autocannon, and the development of the A-11/f pod for use in anti-radar/AA missile battery operations (these will be installed on A/BG-20 Thud's in Wild Weasel and Ironhand configurations).
It should be noted that the A-10 is a tank killer, not an aero-space supremacy aircraft; Against TANKS they have bonuses, but against any fighter they're severely disadvantaged (no bonuses). They can take on helicopters, shuttles, and the like with bonuses.
Model Number: A-10
Vehicle Type: Ground Attack Aircraft.
Crew: One; A twin-seater model is also once again available as a standard variant (after a century of being out of service).
M.D.C. by Location:
* Wings (2)-
** Elevators (2)-
** Rudders (2)-
Cockpit- 120		80 each
40 each
40 each
120		*** Engines (2)-
Landing Gear (3)-
*** Fuselage-

120 each
10 each
280

Notes:
* Destroying a Wing will cause the pilot to suffer a 50% drop in ALL piloting skills; However, because of the A-10's remarkable design, it will not, necessarily, crash.
** Destruction of rudders or one elevator will still allow the plane to be controlled by the varying of power levels of the engines but the fighter has a penalty of -10 to dodge, and a -30% penalty to all piloting rolls. Destruction of both of the elevators will leave the plane uncontrollable and pilot must eject to survive.
*** The destruction of one engine will reduce the fighters top speed by half and give the pilot a -2 penalty to dodge as well as giving a 10% penalty to piloting. Destruction of both engines will cause the aircraft to crash. Pilot may attempt an emergency landing or pilot can choose to eject.
**** Depleting the M.D.C. of the main body will shut the Aircraft down completely, rendering it useless and causing it to crash if in flight.
Speed and Statistical Data:
Driving on Ground (Taxiing): Only possible for take offs and landings as well as for parking and storage. Speed is 40 mph (64 kph) when traveling and not on take off or landing. Aircraft can land and take off from primitive runways.
Flying: The Thunderbolt can reach a top speed of 420 mph (365 knots/676 kph). The aircraft does not have an afterburner and the fighter's normal cruise speed is 345 mph (300 knots/556 kph) but varies on the situation. The Thunderbolt has a maximum altitude of 30,000 feet (9144 m).
Range: Has a cruise range of 1,554 miles (1350 nm/2500 km) with no ordnance load. The aircraft can carry up to three external fuel tanks that each contains 600 gallons of fuel and adds 300 miles (260 nm/480 km) to the aircraft's range. Reduce aircraft's range by 15% if partially loaded (more than 50% of capacity) and by 25% if fully loaded. The Thunderbolt can fly a mission to a target that is 288 (250 nm/463.5 km) away while being three quarters loaded with ordnance and the aircraft can loiter at the target for 1 hour and 45 minutes. The A-10 Thunderbolt can be refueled in the air.
Length: 53 feet 4 inches (16.16 meters).
Wingspan: 57 feet (17.4 meters).		Height: 14 feet 8 inches (4.4 meters).
Weight: 51,000 pounds (22,950 kg) fully loaded.
Rate Of Climb: 6,000 feet per min (30 ms).
Service Ceiling: 45,000 feet (13,700 m).
Takeoff Distance: 1,300 ft (396.25 m).
Power System: Twin GE TF34-GE-250D turbofan hydro-cell engines; Output: 12,065 lbs thrust each.
Flight Systems:
Primary: Airfoil and thrust.
Secondary: Grav pods (mainly for take off and landing in rugged conditions, and for special operations).
Cargo: Minimal (Storage for small equipment), does not include hard points.
Cost and Availability: 2.1 millioncredit; Every 3 DAYS a dozen role off the assembly lines.
Black Market Cost and Availability: Around 3.5 billioncredit; Routinely available (there are dozens of groups manufacturing them illegally).

Weapon Systems:
01. GAU-8/A 30MM "Avenger" Gatling Cannon: This is the original Pre-GCW cannon mounted in the nose of the aircraft. They have replaced the standard ammo with mega damage, armor piercing ramjet ammunition which allows the aircraft to hold its own and surpass post-Visitor tanks in firepower.
Mega Damage: 2D6 times 10 for a short burst of 20 round, 4D6 times 10 for a long burst of 40 GAU-8/A AVENGER GATLIN CANNON.rounds, and 3D6 for each round. Both bursts count as one attack.
Maximum Effective Range: 6,000 feet (1,830 m).
Rate of Fire: Equal to the combined hand to hand attacks of the pilot (usually 4 or 5).
Payload: 1180 rounds (59 bursts).

02. Ordnance Hard Points (11): The aircraft has a total of 11 hard points. Three of the hard points are on the body of the aircraft and there are four hard points on each wing. The hard points can be used to carry missiles, bombs, mini-missile packs, towed decoys, and jamming pods. The aircraft can also carry fuel tanks on the three hard points on the main body. The outer hard points often carry medium range missiles for air to air combat. The only restriction is that a given hardpoint must carry all the same type of missile and missile. In two pilot versions, short range missile racks are controlled by the pilot.
Damage/Effect and Range: Varies by missile or bomb type; Reference Dr Ryan KITSUNE for further details.
Rate of Fire: Missiles can be fired and bombs can be dropped one at a time per hard point. Multiple hard points can be linked as one attack but must be the same type of ordnance (all missiles or all bombs in a volley).
Payload: 4 short range missile or light bombs, 2 medium range missiles or medium bombs, or 1 long range missile or heavy bomb (all ordnance on a hard point must be the same size and type of ordnance) each hard point.







Variant Configurations:
NAW Variant: The Night All-Weather variant has a significantly enhanced internal anti-radiation package and the standard GAU-8/A 30MM "Avenger" was replaced with a 20MM KM-61 Vulcan (which was also used during early testing of the A-10 as the Avenger was not yet ready).
1. M-61A2b Vulcan: The M-61A2b Vulcan is an electric driven six-barrel air-cooled rotary cannon that fires 20MM shells at up to 5,000 rounds per minute. Under normal circumstances, the M-61 would be obsolete by UGC standards, but the use of Plasma 662 has brought it back in the A-10's NAW configuration for anti-radar/sensor applications. Combined with the NNr-4 round (which is capable of penetrating most radar site armors and destroying the equipment, but "unlikely" to kill the crew) this option is gaining ground, and a new breed of VWC (mainly for the A/BG-20 but also used on the A/FG-36 Hornet) has seen field use in the same general capacity.
Purpose: Anti-Radar/Anti-Missile Battery.
Range: 4,000 feet (1,220 m).
MD: 1D6 times 10 for a burst of 30 round, 2D4 for each round.
Blast Radius 5 feet (1.6 m).
Rate of Fire: Four attacks per melee. The number of rounds fired in no way effects attacks per melee, since the fire pattern must be programmed in at least one melee beforehand.
Payload: 570 rounds (19 bursts).

2. A-11/f Radiation Tracking/Jamming Pod: The A-11/a Antirad pod normally only has the power to jam enemy signals enough to protect the carrier (fighter, bomber, etc.) itself; The f pod has the power to aggressively jam all enemy signals, making an entire flight virtually invisible by simply overwhelming the radar, lidar, infrared, and etc. sources. One pilot described it as "Showing them everything they could ever want to see to blind them." The wash from an f pod is so overwhelming it can't even be traced to the source, though an f pod equipped craft is pretty obvious (its hump is significantly larger, since it's a variation of the NR-BP-E2 Recon FAST Pack). The a-11/f is also too big for an external pod; Half the unit is internal.
Effect: Causes a -25% to confirmed detection within a 10 mile radius of the pod, negating computer or other sensor based bonuses to strike. Because it's just that overwhelming, it also can't be used to pinpoint the source (though the pod itself is very distinctive, and can be seen using binos or another aircraft). Does not effect visual or audio based sensors (cameras and acoustic mirrors).
Range: Unlike the Active Jamming Pod (AJP), the A-11/f provides jamming the effects all friendly forces within a 10 mile radius of the NAW.
Features:
  • Video Camera: Records from the HUD. 50 hours of recording available.
  • AMC/FD (2): Anti-Missile Chaff/Flare Dispensers. Actually launches a glob of burning magnesium/aluminum alloy to confuse both radar AND heat sensory systems. Fires off 04 chaff/flares each time it is activated. The system is KNOWN to work on all KNOWN radar and infrared systems, but concerns continue that somewhere out there their MIGHT be a system that will be totally unaffected by the system. Reduce effects by 20% against smart missiles (add +20% to rolls for smart missiles).
    Effect:
    01-50 Enemy missile or missile volley detonates in chaff cloud- Missiles are all destroyed.
    51-75 Enemy missile or missile volley loses track of real target and veers away in wrong direction (may lock onto another target).
    76-00 No effect, missile is still on target.
    Also note that the chaff cloud will also blind nearby heat sensors (and optically based sensors at night) for 1 melee. They will suffer the following penalties: Reduce melee attacks/actions, and combat bonuses by half.
    Duration: 1D4 melee rounds.
    Payload: 60 chaff/flares. Each time the system is engaged, the system fires off 04 chaff/flares.

    Combat Bonuses For The A-10 Thunderbolt II:
  • +1 to Strike with 30MM Gun and Mini-Missile Launchers.
  • +1 to dodge.
  • +3 to dodge while traveling over 250 mph.
1: Because I know the faggot squad is CHOMPING at the bit (chewing right through the fucking thing more like) to raise a shit storm about this, all I can really say is FUCK OFF. Don't act so surprised that I called you on your shit before you even dropped that deuce, Tetsuya. And please, please, do play stupid with me, give me another reason to say "Fuck off."
2: Literally; Every time you see "Reinforced Cockpit" or "Reinforced Pilot's Compartment," it's a reference to this. (I have no idea if K SEIMBEIDA realizes this or not, but I would surmise he does.)
I am aware the "Night All Weather" variant never "took off." Ask me if I care; Seeing as Fairchild Republic also floated a 2-seat tail gunned version (even I'm a little perplexed at that), I'm not even sure how it is I "can" care.