US A-10 swoops in like a dragon and destroys a Taliban position in Afghanistan.

[Dronetek]

US A-10 swoops in like a dragon and destroys a Taliban position in Afghanistan.

http://www.liveleak.com/player.swf?autostart=false&token=e4e6b92681
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e4e6b92681

Join my Group: http://www.liveleak.com/group?i=The%20Coalitions%20War

[PeterG]

Sweet! My god, the sound of the GAU-8A is the coolest sound ever - i must figure out a way to use it as a ringtone on my cellphone!

Puff the Magic Dragon!

[Thor]

That sound beats everything

[Kvakva]

yes, hell of a sound

[guest]

Yes.. it IS an awesome sound.

However a can't help but think about Charles Coy, whom unfortunatley were on the WRONG end of that sound, when an A-10 mistakenly straffed their position..

Resulting in 1 KIA and 8 or so others wounded.

Not putting out blame, just a different perpective.

[silveykyle]

that sound makes me feel warm inside

[wicked_hind]

Damn that was sweet-they never knew what hit them. Total psychological factor with the sound.

[Soldier of fortune]

Sweet JESUS, what at sound.

gives me a hard on p-)


THX Dronetek, nice avatar by the way....

[Saranof]

I've never actually heard that sound before, holy ****...

[Hunterhr]

That video really puts in perspective just how loud the sound of the GAU is. "Dragon" is right.

[Kvakva]

stupid liveleak >=( how do i download it? (http://javimoya.com/blog/youtube_en.php doesn't help)

[IDF-Godzilla]

Amazing sound!
Dragon it is woot.

[Pook2]

Ive heard and seen them doing gun runs when I was at an Army and Air NG base up in Pennsylvania. You can't mistake that sound for anything else. It's awesome to hear. The hillside they used for an impact range for the A10's and arty looked like the moon, it was creepy.

[Stix@CTC]

Unfortunatly, once again the targeting system on the A10 finds friendly forces. The latest Royal Marine to die was killed by an American A10.

Daily Telegraph:

Several of Mne Wigleys colleagues state that Jonathan was hit by fire from an A10.
Lt Col Andy Price (Mil Spokesman) said "he was hit when coalition aircraft were engaging Taliban forces in close proximity to Mne Wigleys position. The A10 uses the GAU-8/A Avenger 30 mm 7 barrelled gattling gun."

Condolences to his family

[Dronetek]

Unfortunatly, once again the targeting system on the A10 finds friendly forces. The latest Royal Marine to die was killed by an American A10.

Daily Telegraph:

Several of Mne Wigleys colleagues state that Jonathan was hit by fire from an A10.
Lt Col Andy Price (Mil Spokesman) said "he was hit when coalition aircraft were engaging Taliban forces in close proximity to Mne Wigleys position. The A10 uses the GAU-8/A Avenger 30 mm 7 barrelled gattling gun."

Condolences to his family

Do you also go aroun dposting all the time A-10s save soldiers lives?

[Fliptape]

They are killing afghans inside Afghanistan

[Roy Batty]

They are killing afghans, and Brits, and Canucks inside Afghanistan


Fixed it for ya.

[PeterG]

Fixed it for ya.

And yet they keep calling for their support.. Are they stupid, or is the CAS worth it, even if there is the occasional, tragic mistake?

[Ngati Tumatauenga]

CAIRs by its very definition is dangerous due to it's close proximity to friendly troops.

The only way to reduce FF cas is to increase the safety distances. But doing that will make CAIRs ineffective. Mostly because the TB will press in closer to reduce risk to themselves.

The battlefield out there is very, very complex and difficult to read from a cockpit moving along at 600mph.

Also keep in mind that there are JTACs actually calling this ordance in 99 times out of 100. It's not just a matter of the pilot dropping it where ever he/she wants to.

There was an e-mail posted here a few months ago written by a Canadian FO stating how he had been calling arty and air in much closer than the regs allowed. He was talking about 2000lb JDAMs being dropped, on command, within 200m of FF. Now, the general rule of thumb is one metre of separation for every pound of weapon weight(Got that from a USAF JTAC).

It's not fair to blame the planes/pilots every time.

[Roy Batty]

And yet they keep calling for their support.. Are they stupid, or is the CAS worth it, even if there is the occasional, tragic mistake?


When there is no other CAS in place ( say Canadian assets [due to long term Canadian governmental ineptitude] ) then the options are limited and you take what help you can get. As for it being occasional; the current friendly fire cost to Canada is 5 dead and 16 or so wounded. / so ends my soap-box speech for the day.

[Roy Batty]

CAIRs by its very definition is dangerous due to it's close proximity to friendly troops.

The only way to reduce FF cas is to increase the safety distances. But doing that will make CAIRs ineffective. Mostly because the TB will press in closer to reduce risk to themselves.

The battlefield out there is very, very complex and difficult to read from a cockpit moving along at 600mph.

Also keep in mind that there are JTACs actually calling this ordance in 99 times out of 100. It's not just a matter of the pilot dropping it where ever he/she wants to.

There was an e-mail posted here a few months ago written by a Canadian FO stating how he had been calling arty and air in much closer than the regs allowed. He was talking about 2000lb JDAMs being dropped, on command, within 200m of FF. Now, the general rule of thumb is one metre of separation for every pound of weapon weight(Got that from a USAF JTAC).

It's not fair to blame the planes/pilots every time.

I agree with you and I have friends over there who will tell you happily how their asses have been saved by US air assets before. It just is an odd touch that it was an A-10 the last two times. Is it true that A-10s are only flown by ANG?

[Ngati Tumatauenga]

I agree with you and I have friends over there who will tell you happily how their asses have been saved by US air assets before. It just is an odd touch that it was an A-10 the last two times. Is it true that A-10s are only flown by ANG?

No, they're flown by reg units as well.

It's not really odd when you consider that CAIRs is what A-10's are designed and built for. Therefore they are the platform most likely to be used and have that much greater chance of being involved, directly or indirectly, in a mistake.

[Divine]

Whats that roaming sound??

Very respectful indeed!

[Abbadon the Despoiler]

Holy ****! 70 rounds per second....

[sir-chimp]

that sound gave me a stiffy

[Roy Batty]

No, they're flown by reg units as well.



Learn something new everyday. That is'nt what I was told when I was over there. I was led to believe that they were all relegated to National Guard use. Teach me to ask airplane questions to a 10th Mountain guy!

The 30mm sure has a different "voice" than the 20mm. We had CF-18s flying CAS on a live fire a few months back and the 20mm sounds like a cow from a distance.

[ed316]

Interesting




The GAU-8/A 30 mm Avenger cannon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-8_Avenger) is said to produce almost the same amount of force as one of the A-10's engines, leading to a persistent military legend that if enough bullets could be carried and fired in a long burst, the plane would stop flying (or move backwards, in some versions of the legend). The GAU-8/A product specs (http://www.gdatp.com/Products/Gun_Systems/GAU-8A/GAU-8A.htm) state an average recoil force of 10,000 lbf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound-force) (45 kN), which does exceed one engine's thrust. However the cannon is employed only in short bursts to protect the barrel cluster from overheating, and even then the engines automatically increase power to help offset the recoil. Even if both engines were stopped so the jet was gliding unpowered, firing the cannon will only slow it down much in the same manner as deploying an airbrake.
Of further note on the cannon recoil force, the A-10's nosewheel gear assembly is situated in the less than optimal off-center-line position (immediately starboard of the gun). This design

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-10_Thunderbolt_II

[nognig]

That gun sounds like the aliens from "War of the World".

NN

[Uncle Chô]

Whats that roaming sound??

What makes this sound is the engine rotating the 30 mm 7 tubes. It is not peculiar to the GAU-8A but to the Vulcan family (ie the 20 mm M61 system on various AF aircraft -except there are 6 tubes).

The sound is also louder in A-stan vids because of the mountains.

[3rdMillhouse]

I think I need a new set of trousers.

[Ravage]

Scary sh!t, that A-10 is hard core woot

[ex Strathcona]

What makes this sound is the engine rotating the 30 mm 7 tubes. It is not peculiar to the GAU-8A but to the Vulcan family (ie the 20 mm M61 system on various AF aircraft -except there are 6 tubes).

The sound is also louder in A-stan vids because of the mountains.

i can attest to the M61 sounding like God tearing the sky apart. I will never forget that sound as long as i live. the A10 is also very unique in its engine sound, i imagine that hearing those engines above you must give the Taliban chills.

[MoFo]

The sound of the a10 humming, OMG that is the most powerful, frightening sound! woot

[armored fist]

Check this out...

http://niteflyte9x.com/HOG.mpg

[Silverdragon]

If I was the enemy and i heard that and saw the results, I would just give up. Such a monsterous sound....70 rounds per second...I cant fathom that. Technology is crazy.

[H2O MAN]

I remember watching live fire night exercises with A-10s from SHAW or McIntire AFB in SC. just before Destert Storm.
I parked on a logging road with a clear view and watched 4 or 6 of them orbiting the crystal clear, moonless late night sky in an elongated oval. They would take turns diving, strafing, popping flairs during evasive maneuvers as they return to orbit for another go.
One of the most intersting things I've ever witnessed - a screaming sound with periodic deep belching when the gun was fired.
An awesome show.

Does anyone offer a civilian version of the HOG?

[xmob]

See this! short but cool.

http://www.warthogpen.com/video_clip_files/video_6.wmv

[koozya]

damn what a sound wow

[3rdMillhouse]

Looks like a ****in lion. I would **** my pants if I were there.

[MayorMcCheese85]

That was awsome!

[Marvin!!]

What makes this sound is the engine rotating the 30 mm 7 tubes. It is not peculiar to the GAU-8A but to the Vulcan family (ie the 20 mm M61 system on various AF aircraft -except there are 6 tubes).

The sound is also louder in A-stan vids because of the mountains.

I think that the low frequency roaring sound is actually made by the sound of each individual shell being fired, and because of the amazing ROF, it just sounds like a roar instead of a rattle type sound you'd usually associate with automatic weapons.


Sh1t scary sound that :| woot

[usa_patriot]

Omfg I Have A ****** ******

[Forrester]

I remember watching live fire night exercises with A-10s from SHAW or McIntire AFB in SC. just before Destert Storm.
I parked on a logging road with a clear view and watched 4 or 6 of them orbiting the crystal clear, moonless late night sky in an elongated oval. They would take turns diving, strafing, popping flairs during evasive maneuvers as they return to orbit for another go.
One of the most intersting things I've ever witnessed - a screaming sound with periodic deep belching when the gun was fired.
An awesome show.

Does anyone offer a civilian version of the HOG?
I guess not, without the weigt of the gun this plane is not able to fly straight..... LOL
I used to see them fly treetop level in Germany awesome

[Chounch McGavin]

Good God that is a disturbing yet beautiful sound

Love it.

[AlexNenadic]

I wonder if people are aware of the number and scale of friendly fire CAS incidents in WWII.

When you have this much ordnance being dropped daily, something is bound to go wrong sooner or later. Especially given the target proximity.


Awesome video, all I could think of was "hammer of God".

[Lamer]

CAS accident is more likely to happen with the A10 because the plane is old and there is no friendly/hostile monitor to warn the pilot- its all visual and diffenting 2 camoed up units in a foregin enviroment when going 700km/h is not easy.
Or have they equiped the newer versions with better toys (I know that original A10 was 90% visual- it didnt even had the ability to drop LGBs which they added later)

[gsm]

most of the time, liveleak vids are not downloading properly for me (doesnt download the whole clip...), is this problem only happening to me?

BTW, dronetek, your vids that i have been able to download and see i really enjoy, thanks heaps for your efforts.

[AmericanImperialist]

CAS accident is more likely to happen with the A10 because the plane is old and there is no friendly/hostile monitor to warn the pilot- its all visual and diffenting 2 camoed up units in a foregin enviroment when going 700km/h is not easy.
Or have they equiped the newer versions with better toys (I know that original A10 was 90% visual- it didnt even had the ability to drop LGBs which they added later)

A-10C addresses these issues

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123033331

[gsm]

managed to get this clip to download fully,

some brand new a-10 action, nice long burst;

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bbe059c440

[Freedom-Fries]

The A10 is fantastic

[Raphael Cortez]

Ok mates, i´ve just found it. Look, it spit fire, as a dragon.

Its the GAU-8/A Avenger Cannon.

Sorry for the english, enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sALiuWg_I1k

i dont know how embed, sorry