A-10C Warthog

This is it. The quintessential DCS module. It is one of the most complete and most complex modules, yet also one of the easiest to get into. The A-10 is a very simple plane to fly, in large part because it is just a very rugged and stable platform that provides almost every conceivable aid to the pilot to deal with a complex threat environment. At the same time, it is a very difficult plane to actually use, for many of the same reasons. It has so many different interlinked and interoperating systems, so many backup systems, and so many different stores and weapons that could be attached to it that, even at almost 700 pages, the included manual only scratches the surface on most of them. While surprisingly manoeuvrable, it is also slightly slower than snot going uphill — if you put yourself in a bad spot, odds are not great that you will be able to fly your way out of that situation.

The upside is, once (and if) you master the A-10, everything else will seem simple to understand in comparison. And while other planes might offer more power and manoeuvrability to get out of harm's way, nothing will match the A-10:s ability to just stick around and keep throwing more and more precision ordnance at the enemy. Also, the speeds afforded by the A-10, you will never go fast enough to really hurt yourself… much.

Features

Anyone who has heard about the A-10 knows about the BRRRRRT — the GAU-8 30mm gatling that someone bolted a pair of wings and engines on and called an airplane. And yet, the cannon is not actually the key feature of the aircraft, nor is its famous armoured cockpit and ability to shrug off ground fire or even the amount of ordnance that it can bring along.

No, the three main features of the A-10C are:

• A comprehensive, extensible, and highly integrated sensor suite to allow precision delivery of almost any kind of weapon, including the ability to link those sensors to outside sources in the air or on the ground.
• A vast array of radio communication and navigation equipment to keep in touch with, and have situational awareness of the relative position to, other combat elements, including a sophisticated flight data computer that tracks a myriad of geographical, environmental, and tactical data points.
• An elaborate HOTAS and MFD setup to quickly manipulate all of the above.

Specifically, the A-10 features:

• TACAN, ILS, VHF and UHF AM, and VHF FM radio receivers.
• INS, GPS, and radio direction finding equipment.
• Helmet NVH mounts, Maverick sensor linking, LITENING targeting pod, and TAD digital moving map and linked unit display.
• Programmable automated and manual threat warning and countermeasure management.
• Programmable and pre-loaded flight and navigation data for storage of steerpoints, mark points, initial points, airfield data, weather data, and terrain data.
• Computer-aided and calculated release and weapon impact points, including automated adjustments for weather and terrain conditions.

Add-ons and files

• Lobo's Normal Checklist (see also kneeboard mods).
• 476th vFG A-10 Flight Crew Checklist.
• Chuck's A-10C guide.

Related DCS modules

• Basic Flight Training (BFT) for A-10C campaign.
• Advanced Aircraft Training Qualification (AATQ) for A-10C campaign.
• Tactical Training Qualification Campaign (TTQC) for A-10C campaign.
• 16-2 Red Flag for A-10C campaign.
• The Enemy Within for A-10C campaign.
• Operation Piercing Fury for A-10C campaign.
• Stone Shield for A-10C campaign.

More information

• Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II on wikpedia.
• A-10/OA-10 Thunderbolt II on globalsecurity.org