Weapons are hung from eleven possible hardpoints; these include the use of a single centerline mounting, or two (left and right) fuselage hardpoints. All eleven hardpoint pylons can be removed to enhance battlefield agility and decrease total combat weight. These pylon stations can hold between 1,000 lbs at the outermost stations, to 5,000 lbs at the centerline station. The total external ordnance payload is 16,000 lbs.
The A-10 is cleared for a huge assortment of weapons, including all the Paveway bombs, excluding the GBU-15 and GBU-28 ("Saddam Killer" 4,000 lb bomb); all of the Mk.80 series LDGPs; the M117 750-lb demolition bombs; cluster bombs; 2.75” rocket pods; ALQ-119 and -131 ECM pods; ALE-40 chaff/flare pods; and AIM-9 series Sidewinders. In practice, payloads are constrained by the mission and by performance requirements—just because the plane can carry 16,000 lbs of ordnance doesn’t mean that it will or should. Further, the A-10's tank-killing role and restricted battlefield environment often preclude the use of more expensive and sophisticated weapons. Predominant combat loads for the A-10A typically consist of Mavericks, iron bombs, and cluster munitions. For a plane to survive in any theater of operations, it must retain its maneuverability, and that in turn means relatively light payloads in combat. Where specific ordnance information has not been available, only the name of the munition is noted.
PGU-14 API armor piercing/incendiary depleted uranium shell
•Details about these projectiles have been discussed in the previous chapter.
AGM-65 Maverick series
•Originally developed by Hughes in 1965, introduced in 1972 for USAF use. Currently the smallest fully-guided air-to surface missile in US inventories. Highly respected as a fire-and-forget weapon. Weapons with the 300 lb (135kg) warhead are sometimes marked with a yellow band before the fin roots; 125 lb (57kg) warheads by a black band.
AGM-65B—electro-optical (EO) 125lb shaped HE charge
•Improved Scene-Magnification version of initial -65A TV Maverick, introduced in 1980. Doubles the image magnification of the 2.5° field of view of the -65A.
AGM-65D—imaging infra-red (IIR) 125lb shaped HE charge
•Imaging infra-red version, introduced in 1983. Capable of operating in adverse weather and night, the IR capability can be used in concert with both FLIR and LANTIRN target designators. The -65D is the most expensive and largest of the Maverick variants, but with exceptional range and target acquisition qualities.
•Air Force equivalent to the -65E Maverick of the US Navy/US Marine Corps (250 lb shaped charge, inventoried for the F/A-18 Hornet and A-6 Intruder), it is designed for hardened targets such as aircraft shelters and bunkers, with the anti-tank capability intact. Features pneumatic controls and digital autopilot. The operator before launch can define what portion of a large target to lock on to, and the weapon features low altitude trajectories to prevent guidance errors due to clouds. Has been suggested that a tactical nuclear warhead may be developed for future use with this variant.
General Purpose (GP) Bombs
Mk.82 LDGP 500lb
Mk.84 LDGP 2000lb
-AIR (Air-Inflatable Retarder) System
•Loral Systems developed this balloon parachute derivative for low level, high speed munitions delivery. In a level pass at 200 ft AGL at a ground speed of 550 knots, the AIR system attached to any of the family of Mk.82, -83, -84 bombs provides a minimum aircraft separation of 1,375 ft from the impact point.
-Snake Eye (retarded air drop) metal Airbrake System
•The Paveway I series were the first U.S. family of laser-guided bombs (LGBs). Introduced in 1967 during the Vietnam War, they were particularly effective against bridges and other high value targets in North Vietnam during the Linebacker 1 and 2 campaigns. Designed for release from high and medium altitudes, they had relatively small fins which restricted their range to about 8 km. No longer in service with the United States (except perhaps as practice bombs), they still may be active with a number of U.S. allies. The basic Paveway design has been widely copied, by Israel, Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, China and the Soviet Union, among others.
Homing Bomb Systems (HOBOS) GBU-8
EOGB-1: Mk.84 LDGP + KMU-353A TV guidance kit, or KMU-390 Image Contrast
seeker, or KMU-359 IR seeker GBU-9
EOGB-2: M118 3000-lb bomb + KMU-390C seeker
•Both of these configurations are known as HOBOS. They were used by the US with mixed results during the Vietnam War. Short-range (8km) direct attack weapons, they required the operator to lock onto a contast edge or IR source before releasing the weapon; unfortunately, the seekers frequently lost lock due to smoke, haze or obscuration. HOBOS is no longer used by the U.S. It was supplied to Israel and other US allies, which may still have some inservice. It was used by the A-10 during test and evaluation, but has never been a common payload.
(NON-OPERATIONAL LOAD)
GBU-15(V)1/B Mk.84 + Cruciform Wing + TV Seeker + AXQ-14 data link
GBU-15(V)2/B Mk.84 + Cruciform Wing + IIR Seeker + AXQ-14 data link
•The GBU-15 is the successor to the defunct HOBOS GBU-8, with much extended wings for longer range (10-15 km, depending on release speed and altitude). It is equipped with a 2-way video data link that allows the bomb to be controlled in flight by the launch aircraft or a third party. Thus it may be released beyond visual range of the target (hopefully beyond the range of its defenses as well), and locked onto the target in flight; it may also be steered manually. Adapted for use with the Mk.84 and the 3,000 lb M118E1 demolition bomb, target delivery accuracy is within 20 feet. Originally part of the Pave Strike program initiated in 1970, it was intended to be a modular “family” of weapons, including an airplane-like “planar wing weapon” (GBU-20) for use by B-52s. Due to rising costs, only the TV and IIR versions were produced. To extend range even further, a rocket-boosted derivative has been developed and fielded as the AGM-130. The GBU-15 has never been used by the A-10A, for several reasons. First, it is expensive ($130K each), and therefore not cost-effective against the A-10’s principal targets. Second, using the weapon requires carriage of a large data link pod, and ideally, the full attention of a dedicated weapon system operator (WSO). Third, given the A 10’s low speed, it would not impart sufficient range to the GBU-15 to take advantage of the datalink feature. In US service, the GBU-15 is carried only by the F-111F and F-15E, for precision deep strike missions. The GBU-15 has been supplied to Israel, where it is carried by the F-4E Phantom.
PAVEWAY II SERIES MODS
GBU-10D Mk.84 LDGP + KMU-351E Paveway II laser guidance kit
GBU-12 Mk.82 LDGP + KMU-388 Paveway II laser guidance kit
GBU-13 SUU-51 dispenser + KMU-388 Paveway II laser guidance kit
GBU-16 Mk.83 LDGP + KMU-455 Paveway II laser guidance kit
•The Paveway II series was introduced in 1980 by Texas Instruments as a lower cost simple guidance system for the original Paveway concept. They were improved versions of the original LGB family featuring more reliable seeker heads and extended fins for longer range (10-15 km depending upon release speed and altitude). Of these, the GBU-10 and GBU-12 are by far the most commonly deployed laser-guided bombs employed by the A-10A; although the aircraft is also cleared for the GBU-16, this is primarily a Navy weapon (as used on the F/A-18 Hornet). The Paveway system typically comprises a set of add-on control surfaces with a marked target laser homing seeker head, which added about 30 lb to the weight of the standard low-drag Mk.82, -83, and -84 iron bombs. The GBU-10 is based around the Mk.84 2,000 lb general purpose bomb.
PAVEWAY III SERIES MODS
GBU-22 BLU-109 2000-lb penetrator + Paveway III laser guidance kit
GBU-24 Mk.84 LDGP + Paveway III laser guidance kit
•The Paveway III series are the latest US laser guided bombs. Also known as Low Level Laser Guided Bombs (LLLGBs), they have revised seekers (without the familiar “weathervane” head) and improved “proportional” (vs. “bang bang” or “on-off”) control systems that allow them to be released at low altitude and “tossed” into a laser “basket”. Paveway IIIs were introduced in 1987, and feature a digital autopliot with microprocessor controls for use in adverse weather, low-level flight. When fitted with high lift folding wings, this weapon can be released at angles ranging from level flight to dive release angles as steep as 60 degrees. They could have been used in the 1986 raid on Libya, but Paveway IIs were used instead to preserve the security of the Paveway III technology. This in turn necessitated a higher approach altitude and a closer approach to the target, which may have resulted in the loss of an F-111F to surface-to-air missile fire. Their sophistication has added considerably to their cost ($40k each); hence they are used only for deep strike missions.
Submunition and Cluster Bomb Units
•The designation BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) refers to a number of interchangeable and flexible munition packages and area denial munition types. These BLUs can be packaged for delivery by Cluster Bomb Units (CBUs) and Suspended Underwing Unit (SUU) dispensers, also known as Tactical Munitions Dispensers (TMDs). In instances where information is available, these munitions will be described; in cases where the A-10A is known to have carried the (typically older) munition, only the type designation will be listed.
Cluster Bomb Units
Avispa (Wasp) CBU canister (Chile)
•Although most cluster munitions are produced in the United States and Europe, other countries such as Israel (TAL-2 submunition dispenser) and Chile have developed CBU’s. Chile’s Ferrimar developed the 500 lb Avispa (or Wasp), which dispenses 248 bomblets of 1.43 lb each. It can dispense either an area-denial submunition with a preset time-delay between 30 seconds and 72 hours, or a shaped charge submunition that can penetrate 150mm (5.9 inches) of armor.
BL755 / HADES CBU canisters (Great Britain)
•Produced by Hunting Engineering since 1972, this dual-role submunition is the standard CBU of British forces, and is qualified for use in a number of NATO aircraft. Weighing 600 lb, it contains 147 bomblets wrapped in a notched steel wire for fragmentation purposes. One of four possible time delays is programmed into the canister before takeoff. Following release, a primary cartridge blows off the two-piece skin of the canister and fires the main cartridge, ejecting the minelets, which are fused by a piezo-electric crystal to a preset altitude. Each shaped-charge warhead thus is armed in free-fall and is able to penetrate (on impact) 9.84 inches of armor, in addition to scattering at least 2,000 lethal fragments. The Improved BL755 uses a more powerful warhead that features an extending nose probe and retarding parachute. The HADES variant contains 49 Ferranti HB876 area denial minelets (this minelet is also used in the JP233 system carried by the Panavia Tornado). These free-fall to the ground and orient themselves upright on radial spring legs, and trigger detonation via a proximity fuse. They too are rigged with an adjustable self-destruct timer fuse.
CBU-59/B Rockeye II
•Developed from the Navy’s Mk.20 Mod IV “Rockeye” (247 M118 bomblets, 30,000 sq ft coverage @ 500 ft AGL release), the Rockeye II packs 717 PLU-77 bomblets in a Mk.7 Mod 3 dispenser. The PLU-77 bomblets are anti-tank fragmentation charges that can discriminate between hard and soft targets to provide a secondary anti-personnel function. Note: this is the only BLU-series submunition that is apparently mispelled, and is still referenced as such in US inventories.
•A load of 670 BLU-86A/B bomblets is fitted inside the SUU 30A/B dispenser, where each bomblet is a steel-cased fragmentation warhead. 1,800 of these bomblets can also be substituted for BLU-63s in the CBU-75 (not carried on the A-10A).
CBU-87 combined effects munitions (CEM)
•Aero Ordnance began manufacture in 1983 of this dual purpose CBU, which houses 202 CEM BLU-97/B bomblets, fitted with a proximity fuse (FZU-39/B) for delivery at a preset altitude. Each bomblet combines a shaped charge for penetrating armor, a prefragmented case (for secondary anti-personnel effect), and a zirconium disk for incendiary effect. The CBU-87 is slated to replace both the ‘Rockeye’ series and the anti-personnel CBU-58/71 series, which have little anti-armor capabilities. Based on the SUU-65/B dispenser, the CBU-87 can be delivered at heights of 200 ft and at speeds of 805 mph. The fragmentation section of the BLU97/B bomblet can disable motor transport to 50 ft, and aircraft (presumably on the ground) at 250 ft. The CBU-87, along with the CBU-52 and CBU-58, are the three favorite gravity bomb loads for the A-10A.
CBU-89 Gator mines
•The Gator landmine system is part of the FASCAM (Family of Scatterable Mines) developed by the US Army’s Armament Research and Development Center. The Gator dispenser system is known to the Air Force as the CBU-89/B, whereas the US Navy designation is CBU-78/B. This system embodies a unique tri-service relationship, in that the US Air Force is the lead service user, with the Army providing the BLU91 and -92 submunitions, and the Navy providing the mine-dispenser adapter. The weapon can be delivered between 200 and 40,000 ft, at speeds up to 700 mph, and the bomblets are triggered by a time fuse or a proximity-activated fusing. The CBU-89 carries 72 BLU-91/B Gator anti-tank bomblets with magnetic detector fuses, and 22 BLU-92/B anti-personnel bomblets with self-deployed tripwires within the 700 lb dispenser.
CBU-97 sensor fused weapon (SFW)
•Avco Systems/Textron developed an essentially ‘guided’ submunition delivery system in the CBU-97/B, which packages 10 BLU-108/B submunitions (each with four ‘Skeet’ smart warheads) inside the SUU-64/TMD dispenser. Each Skeet is a squat cylinder casing with a side-mounted IR sensor tube running parallel to the axis of the warhead. Each submunition is, upon release, suspended vertically by a parachute as a small retro rocket motor spins the armament upward and ejects the four Skeets outward. Spring-loaded arms on each Skeet impart a wobble on the spin of the Skeet, thus increasing the search pattern of the IR sensor to around 4,800 sq yd below it. Once the heat of a tank is identified, the Skeet warhead fires downward a unique self forging shaped charge, that transforms a dish of heavy malleable metal into a slender projectile, travelling at 9,000 ft/sec (6,100 mph)! The slug is capable of easily penetrating the thin armor at the top of the tank, resulting in tremendous kinetic forces upon impact, and often causing a secondary fire. If no heat source is detected, the Skeet detonates above the ground to cause blast and fragmentation damage in an anti-personnel role. Development of this submunition is under the supervision of the Wide-Area Anti-armor Munitions (WAM) and Assault Breaker programs which seek to provide US tactical aircraft with the ability to make direct attacks on armored formations. The WAM concept is itself an outgrowth of the Extended Range Anti-armor Munitions (ERAM) project of the USAF Armament Division at Eglin AFB, where Avco participated as a contractor.
Mk.36 Destructor mines
Sidewinder Air-to-Air Missile
AIM-9L infra-red heat sensing
•Arguably the most outstanding of the first postwar generation of air-to-air missiles, the Ford Aerospace/Raytheon Sidewinder AIM-9 was originally developed at the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, and exists in multiple variants since its introduction in 1956. This missile inadvertently became the basis for its generation of missiles when one lodged in the rear fuselage of a MiG-17 when both its proximity and contact fuses failed. Examination of this missile once the MiG-17 landed resulted in Soviet-bloc and Chinese copies of the rocket motor systems. The AIM-9L 'Lima' (introduced in 1976) is the best-known of the current generation, with an all-aspect IR seeker head with double-delta canards. The Sidewinder series represents a design concept developed in the 1950s that the energy from a warhead could best be employed to create a moving ring of metal that expanded outward into the target. To that end, a series of rods were welded together in the warhead that would deform and break, but in the controlled pattern of an expanding circle or ring. The resulting contact with a target fuselage or control surface would be a linear set of slashes through the skin, resulting in significant strength damage to the structural components, with concomittant damage to electrical, hydraulic or mechanic connections. The preferred 6 o’ clock target aspect for any missile shot increased the probability of successful damage to the engine and/or fuel systems by targeting the engine’s heat signature; improved all-aspect missiles such as the AIM-9L meant that any firing aspect could be attempted, including head-on launches. Use of the AIM9 'Lima' model is believed to be minimal or discontinued for the A-10A, having been replaced with the improved 'Mike' model (see below).
AIM-9M all aspect
•Produced exclusively in the US, the AIM-9M features an enhanced guidance and target-acquisition, improved countermeasures resistance, and the smokeless exhaust of its Bermite/Hercules Mk.36 motor represents a significant tactical advantage to an already capable weapon.
Vought Hypervelocity Missile (HVM)
(CONCEPT WEAPON/NON-OPERATIONAL LOAD)
•This Vought/Loral system was developed as part of the Army’s Line-of-Sight Anti-Tank (LOSAT) program of the late 1970s. In 1981, the USAF awarded Vought a contract to develop an air-launched version under laser guidance, with the original specifications to use depleted uranium rods for maximum kinetic energy translation upon impact. Specifications for the USAF version call for a 66lb tungsten long-rod penetrator projectile of 3.8 inch caliber that can impact its target at 5,000 ft/sec (Mach 5). These would be fired from existing 40mm rocket pods. Such a kinetic force weapon would circumvent reactive (explosive) and composite (Chobham-type) tank armor plating that currently serves to reduce the effectiveness of tank damage and penetration by conventional high-explosive shaped-charge weapons. A FLIR sensor on the aircraft would track both target and missile location, and transmit guidance controls via a carbon dioxide laser data link. Testing of this weapon indicated that it was effective at a range of 6 km, roughly twice the range of the current Hydra 70 family of 2.75 (70 mm) folding fin aerial rockets (FFARs). Further, the HVM is designed to permit a single aircraft to engage up to 10 (ten) individual targets in a single pass. Operational cost of this system has been projected to be rather inexpensive, being $8,300 per missile in FY85 dollars. At present, however, the HVM is a purely Army program, and if the Air Force has retained any interest, it is mainly as a low-level technology demonstration program. From the Air Force perspective, the short range of HVM requires the launch aircraft to fly unacceptably close to its target. This would be no problem for the A-10A, for which HVM is an ideal weapon. But as current Air Force plans call for eventual elimination of the Warthog, there is obviously no programmatic justification (from their perspective) for the HVM.
Target Marking
•These items are most often carried by the OA-10A in its Forward Air Controller role, for target marking and designation, or as part of the standard operational load for Seaarch and Rescue "Sandy" missions. They should not to be considered part of normal combat ordnance loads or missions.
Mk.156 White Phosphorus (WP) warhead / Mk.66 rocket motor assembly (‘Willy
•Because of its better performance, most A-10 units operating in Europe received the -131 model due to the higher threat level perceived in Soviet-aligned forces. It has a generally more squarish and chunky appearance in comparison to the ALQ-119 ECM pod.
