Photo By Scott Sturkol | An Air Force pilot guides an A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft over the airspace on North...... read more read more
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Pilots driving the A-10C Thunderbolt II completed several days of bombing practice at Fort McCoy in early September during bombing training runs with 1,000-pound munitions at the installation’s impact area.
The Thunderbolts were from the 303rd Fighter Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., according to Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security officials. Over the course of several days (Sept. 5-9), A-10s made passes to targets on the installation’s impact area on North Post — accurately hitting targets as efficiently as possible.
According to the Air Force fact sheet for the A-10C Thunderbolt II at https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104490, the aircraft is especially good for doing the kind of training it was completing at Fort McCoy because of its design that specific to provide close-air support of ground forces.
“They are simple, effective, and survivable twin-engine jet aircraft that can be used against light maritime attack aircraft and all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles,” the fact sheet states.
The aircraft also features many other unique capabilities.
“The A-10C offers excellent maneuverability at low airspeeds and altitude while maintaining a highly accurate weapons-delivery platform,” the fact sheet states. “They can loiter near battle areas for extended periods of time, are capable of austere landings, and operate under 1,000-foot ceilings (303.3 meters) with 1.5-mile (2.4 kilometers) visibility. Additionally, with the capability of carrying precision-guided munitions and unguided munitions, they can employ above, below, and in the weather. Their wide combat radius and short takeoff and landing capability permit operations in and out of locations near front lines. Using night vision goggles, A-10C pilots can conduct also their missions during darkness.”
And although during this training, the A-10s were primarily doing bombing practice, the airframe is most famous for another weapon system.
“The Thunderbolt II’s 30mm GAU-8/A Gatling gun can fire 3,900 rounds a minute and can defeat an array of ground targets to include tanks,” the fact sheet states. “Some of their other equipment include electronic countermeasures, target penetration aids, self-protection systems and an array of air-to-surface weapons, including laser and GPS guided munitions, AGM-65 Maverick and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.”
Prior to this training, A-10 pilots conducted nearly identical training at Fort McCoy in early May, DPTMS schedulers said.
There’s been a long history of A-10 training at Fort McCoy for decades, history shows. Recently, Air Force operators completed A-10 training on post in September 2023 when Airmen were practicing takeoffs and landings with A-10s at Fort McCoy's Young Air Assault Strip on South Post.
Similar training also took place at Fort McCoy in October 2022 and in May 2021.
According to its unit fact sheet, the 303rd Fighter Squadron has been at Whiteman since June 1994. The unit has multiple deployments since including many for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
“The aircraft flown during the history of the 303rd Fighter Squadron have been the C-47 Skytrain, the Waco CG-4A Hadrian glider, the C-53 Skytrooper, the C-46 Commando, the C-119 Flying Boxcar, the C-124 Globemaster II, the C-13OA and C-130E Hercules, and the A-10 Thunderbolt II,” the fact sheet states.
Training like this also matches with the installation’s motto to be the “Total Force Training Center.” The motto is built into the installation’s Strategic Business Plan that is completed every five years.
In the 2021-2025 Fort McCoy Strategic Business Plan, it states, “Fort McCoy is known as the Total Force Training Center because we support the training and mobilization of reserve- and active-component military personnel from all branches of America’s armed forces. …Fort McCoy has become a training site of choice for satisfying both individual and collective training requirements. The installation’s varied terrain, state-of-the-art ranges, four-season climate, new and renovated facilities, and extensive support infrastructure combine to provide our military forces with an excellent training environment to develop and sustain the skills and essential tasks necessary for mission success.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2024 11:23 |
| Story ID: | 481514 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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