Originally posted by zraver
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"Making an A-10 "C"
Set to run through 2011, the Warthog’s upgrade to A-10C configuration will transform the full inventory of 356 Air Force, Air National Guard, and Reserve fighters. It will, in the words of the pilots, be making an analog jet aircraft digital.
Collectively referred to as "Precision Engagement," the program revamps the aircraft’s cockpit with multifunction color displays, integrates a laser designator, new throttles, and stick grips, and incorporates targeting pods (the A-10 can now host both the Sniper and Litening targeting pods).
The aircraft also boasts a Situational Awareness Data Link which connects the pilot with troops on the ground. Similar to the more prolific Link 16 system, SADL shares mission information via gateways—computer portals that transfer information between different formats, helping to increase the efficiency of passing data from air to ground.
In short, a lot less fiddling and more flying. "It got us into the 21st century, where we really should have been a decade ago," said Lt. Col. Kevin Campbell, the head of the 175th Maintenance Squadron and a veteran A-10 pilot who aided testing efforts for the C.
"Before it became a C, the integration was a lot more manual," said Lt. Col. Dan Marino, the 175th Operations Group commander and a 22-year veteran A-10 driver. "You’d click through menus, and if you missed, you had to cycle back through."
Many of the old weapon systems, such as dumb bombs and rocket pods, were analog weapons systems. Tracking targets sometimes required a lot of fast switch changes. Now, most of those tasks have been integrated onto the stick and throttle—so a pilot can select a weapon and fire it and never have to take his hands off the stick.
The power and wiring system were also revamped, allowing more information to be stored in the aircraft’s computers and creating the open architecture necessary to mount newer and more precise weapons on the aircraft—including the GBU-38, the GBU-12, and Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispensers. This married the precision weapon capability often associated with "fast movers" with the low ceiling and persistence of the A-10’s close air support capabilities."
Source: Not Fade Away
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