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Last updated on Thursday, January 25, 2018
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - A squadron of A-10C “Warthog” Thunderbolts has begun flying missions over drug-growing areas of Afghanistan, part of growing U.S. and Afghan efforts targeting Taliban redoubts and proliferate drug facilities.
Tom Squitieri, of Talk Media News reports, the single-seat A-10 is beloved by U.S. troops for the versatile, sturdy and intense ground support it provides. Designed for durability, the A-10 is heavily armored and built to take a significant amount of damage and continue flying to deliver even more damage to the enemy.
The aircraft deployment is the latest sign of escalating military operations and deepening U.S. military involvement by the Trump administration against the Taliban, more than 16 years after the 9/11 attacks.
Afghanistan is the global leading producer of poppies, supplying about 80 percent of the world's opium. Despite more than $8.5 billion in U.S.-funded counternarcotics efforts in the country for more than a decade, production continues to increase. In 2017, a record of almost 10,000 tons of opium was produced, according to a joint survey conducted by the United Nations and the Afghan government.
"The Taliban still has not felt the full brunt of American and Afghan air power," Maj. Gen. James Hecker, commander of 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force--Afghanistan and NATO Air Command--Afghanistan., said in a statement. "With the arrival of new air assets and the growing capabilities of Afghan pilots, the Taliban will have a constant eye toward the sky."
The A-10s arrived over the weekend from the 303rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, based out of Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. They were to replace a squadron flying out of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey for duty over Iraq but were redirected to Afghanistan since the U.S.-led coalition has been cornering and reducing the ISIS footprint in Iraq and Syria.
It is the first time in more than three years that A-10s are in Afghanistan. They are joined by MQ-9 Reaper drones to provide armed overwatch and surveillance and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters for personnel recovery and combat search and rescue.
Once described as "the ugliest, most beautiful aircraft on the planet" the A-10 is essentially a streamlined airplane armed with a gun the size of a small car that fires uranium-filled bullets larger than 12-ounce beer bottles from a cannon more than 19 feet long. Its Gatling gun hoses shells at a rate of 3900 rounds per minute.
The A-10 Thunderbolt II is named after the ground support-oriented P-47 Thunderbolt of World War Two fame. It acquired its much-used moniker for its looks.
The plan garnered its fierce reputation during the 1991 Gulf War and as well as in Grenada, the Balkans, and actions against ISIS.
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