This is a continuation of my "Red Storm Rising" articles that I am doing., the next piece of equipment was the "F-19 "Ghostrider" or the "Frisbee". I thought that Tom Clancy talked about a stealth fighter/bomber before the unveil of the F117 Night Hawk of Desert Storm fame. In the book, the "frisbee's performed the first mission by NATO doing a preemptive strike against the Soviet
Mainstays that were flying over East Germany monitering the NATO forces. The Frisbee's came in low through the ground clutter and came under the Mainstays and shot them down opening up the night sky for NATO's fighter bombers that immediately went in and decimated bridged, supply dumps and Command and control centers guaranteeing that the 2nd echelon of the Soviet forces were not able to support the first echelons that were starting to engage the NATO forces. This gave NATO control over the night sky for the duration of the conflict.
In his 1986 novel
Red Storm Rising,
Tom Clancy
featured the "F-19A Ghostrider" (nicknamed "Frisbee" by the pilots and
crew) as a secret weapon used to combat a Soviet invasion of Germany.
This vehicle was considerably more capable than the F-117, being a
supersonic fighter rather than a subsonic precision bomber. The F-19A as
described in the book featured underwing hardpoints for various
ordnance, including air-to-air missiles and
BLU-107 Durandal runway-cratering bombs. The aircraft also has circular wings instead of angular ones, hence the nickname
Since the
unification of the numbering system in 1962, U.S. fighters have been designated by consecutive numbers, beginning with the
F-1 Fury.
F-13 was never assigned to a fighter due to
superstition, though the designation had previously been used for a reconnaissance version of the
B-29. After the
F/A-18 Hornet, the next announced aircraft was the
F-20 Tigershark.
The USAF proposed the F-19 designation for the fighter, but Northrop
requested the "F-20" instead. The USAF finally approved the F-20
designation in 1982.The truth behind this jump in numbers is Northrop pressed the
designation "F-20" as they wanted an even number, in order to stand out
from the Soviet odd numbered designations. Despite this, the
designations
F-17,
F-21, and
F-23 were not skipped.
Throughout most of the 1980s, "F-19" was thought to be the designation of the
stealth fighter whose development was an
open secret
in the aerospace community. When the actual aircraft was publicly
revealed in November 1988, its designation was revealed to be F-117.
Another rumor was that F-19 is really the designation of some other
super-secret project, one so black that it will not be revealed for many
years.
One more version was part of a deliberate plot by the Air Force to
confuse Soviet intelligence by hoodwinking them into expending so much
effort in trying to find out information about a plane that does not
exist.
Now I will talk about one of my favorite airplanes, the A-10, we Army guys love the A-10, I have seen what the airplane has done to soviet equipment, it is literally hell on enemy Armor. In the book, the A-10 was used to savage the Soviet Armor formations, the FAC would ask NATO armor to go after the mobile SAM systems like the ZSU-23-4 or the SA-6 missile system for they have the ability to shoot down the A-10 as they would make runs on the Soviet Armor. According to the book, the Soviets called the A-10 the "flying cross" because the shape reminded them of the Orthodox cross that is prevalent in soviet churches.
The
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat,
twin turbofan engine,
straight wing jet aircraft developed by
Fairchild-Republic for the
United States Air Force (USAF). Commonly referred to by its nicknames
Warthog or
Hog, its official name comes from the
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a
World War II fighter that was effective at attacking ground targets. The A-10 was designed for
close air support
(CAS) of friendly ground troops, engaging armored vehicles and tanks,
and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It
entered service in 1976 and is the only production-built aircraft that
has served in the USAF that was designed solely for CAS. Its secondary
mission is to provide
forward air controller
– airborne (FAC-A) support, by directing other aircraft in attacks on
ground targets. Aircraft used primarily in this role are designated
OA-10.
The A-10 was intended to improve on the performance of the
A-1 Skyraider and its poor firepower. The A-10 was designed around the 30 mm
GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon. Its
airframe was designed for durability, with measures such as 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of titanium
armor
to protect the cockpit and aircraft systems, enabling it to absorb a
significant amount of damage and continue flying. Its short takeoff and
landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front
lines, and its simple design enables maintenance with minimal
facilities. The A-10 served in the
Gulf War (
Operation Desert Storm), the American intervention against
Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait, where the A-10 distinguished itself. The A-10 also participated in other conflicts such as
Operation Urgent Fury in
Grenada, the
Balkans,
Afghanistan,
Iraq, and against
ISIL in the
Middle East.
The A-10A single-seat variant was the only version produced, though
one pre-production airframe was modified into the YA-10B twin-seat
prototype to test an all-weather night capable version. In 2005, a
program was started to upgrade remaining A-10A aircraft to the A-10C
configuration with modern avionics for use of precision weaponry. The
U.S. Air Force had stated the
F-35
would replace the A-10 as it entered service, but this remains highly
contentious within the Air Force and in political circles. With a
variety of upgrades and
wing replacements,
the A-10's service life may be extended to 2040, although plans call
for it to be retired starting in 2022 after being replaced.
The A-10 has a cantilever low-wing monoplane wing with a wide chord.
The aircraft has superior maneuverability at low speeds and altitude because of its large wing area, high
wing aspect ratio, and large
ailerons. The wing also allows
short takeoffs and landings, permitting operations from primitive
forward airfields near front lines. The aircraft can
loiter
for extended periods and operate under 1,000 ft (300 m) ceilings with
1.5 mi (2.4 km) visibility. It typically flies at a relatively low speed
of 300 knots (350 mph; 560 km/h), which makes it a better platform for
the ground-attack role than fast
fighter-bombers, which often have difficulty targeting small, slow-moving targets.
The leading edge of the wing has a
honeycomb structure
panel construction, providing strength with minimal weight; similar
panels cover the flap shrouds, elevators, rudders and sections of the
fins. The
skin
panels are integral with the stringers and are fabricated using
computer-controlled machining, reducing production time and cost. Combat
experience has shown that this type of panel is more resistant to
damage. The skin is not load-bearing, so damaged skin sections can be
easily replaced in the field, with makeshift materials if necessary. The
ailerons are at the far ends of the wings for greater
rolling moment and have two distinguishing features: The ailerons are larger than is typical, almost 50 percent of the
wingspan, providing improved control even at slow speeds; the aileron is also split, making it a
deceleron.
The A-10 is designed to be refueled, rearmed, and serviced with minimal equipment. Its simple design enables maintenance at forward bases with limited facilities. Also, most repairs can be done in the field.
An unusual feature is that many of the aircraft's parts are
interchangeable between the left and right sides, including the engines,
main landing gear, and vertical stabilizers. The sturdy landing gear,
low-pressure tires and large, straight wings allow operation from short
rough strips even with a heavy
aircraft ordnance load, allowing the aircraft to operate from damaged airbases, flying from taxiways or even
straight roadway sections.
The front landing gear is offset to the aircraft's right to allow
placement of the 30 mm cannon with its firing barrel along the
centerline of the aircraft. During ground taxi, the offset front landing gear causes the A-10 to have dissimilar
turning radii. Turning to the right on the ground takes less distance than turning left.
The wheels of the main landing gear partially protrude from their
nacelles when retracted, making gear-up
belly landings
easier to control and less damaging. All landing gears are hinged
toward the aircraft's rear; if hydraulic power is lost, a combination of
gravity and aerodynamic drag can open and lock the gear in place.
The A-10 is exceptionally tough, being able to survive direct hits from
armor-piercing and
high-explosive projectiles up to 23 mm. It has double-redundant
hydraulic
flight systems, and a mechanical system as a back up if hydraulics are
lost. Flight without hydraulic power uses the manual reversion control
system; pitch and yaw control engages automatically, roll control is
pilot-selected. In manual reversion mode, the A-10 is sufficiently
controllable under favorable conditions to return to base, though
control forces are greater than normal. The aircraft is designed to fly
with one engine, one half of tail, one elevator, and half of a wing
missing.
The cockpit and parts of the flight-control system are protected by 1,200 lb (540 kg) of
titanium aircraft armor, referred to as a "bathtub". The armor has been tested to withstand strikes from 23 mm cannon fire and some strikes from 57 mm rounds.
It is made up of titanium plates with thicknesses from 0.5 to 1.5
inches (13 to 38 mm) determined by a study of likely trajectories and
deflection angles. The armor makes up almost 6 percent of the aircraft's
empty weight. Any interior surface of the tub directly exposed to the
pilot is covered by a multi-layer nylon
spall shield to protect against shell fragmentation.
The front windscreen and canopy are resistant to small arms fire.
The A-10 was envisioned to fly from forward air bases and semi-prepared runways with high risk of
foreign object damage to the engines. The unusual location of the
General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofan
engines decreases ingestion risk, and allows the engines to run while
the aircraft is serviced and rearmed by ground crews, reducing
turn-around time. The wings are also mounted closer to the ground,
simplifying servicing and rearming operations. The heavy engines require
strong supports, four bolts connect the engine pylons to the airframe. The engines' high 6:1
bypass ratio have a relatively small
infrared signature, and their position directs exhaust over the tailplanes further shielding it from detection by
infrared homing surface-to-air missiles. The engines and exhausts are angled upward by nine degrees to cancel out the nose-down
pitching moment that would otherwise generate from being mounted above the aircraft's
center of gravity and avoids the need to trim the control surfaces to prevent pitching.
To reduce the likelihood of damage to the A-10's fuel system, all
four fuel tanks are located near the aircraft's center and are separated
from the fuselage; projectiles would need to penetrate the aircraft's
skin before reaching a tank's outer skin.
Compromised fuel transfer lines self-seal; if damage exceeds a tank's
self-sealing capabilities, check valves prevent fuel flowing into a
compromised tank. Most fuel system components are inside the tanks so
that fuel will not be lost due to component failure. The refueling
system is also purged after use.
Reticulated polyurethane foam
lines both the inner and outer sides of the fuel tanks, retaining
debris and restricting fuel spillage in the event of damage. The engines
are shielded from the rest of the airframe by
firewalls
and fire extinguishing equipment. In the event of all four main tanks
being lost, two self-sealing sump tanks contain fuel for 230 miles
(370 km) of flight.
Although the A-10 can carry considerable disposable stores, its primary built-in weapon is the
30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger autocannon. One of the most powerful aircraft cannons ever flown, it fires large
depleted uranium armor-piercing shells. The GAU-8 is a hydraulically driven seven-barrel
Gatling-type cannon designed specifically for the
anti-tank role with a high
rate of fire. The cannon's original design could be switched by the pilot to 2,100 or 4,200 rounds per minute; this was later changed to a fixed rate of 3,900 rounds per minute.
The cannon takes about half a second to come up to speed, so 50 rounds
are fired during the first second, 65 or 70 rounds per second
thereafter. The gun is accurate enough to place 80 percent of its shots
within a 40-foot (12.4 m) diameter circle from 4,000 feet (1,220 m)
while in flight. The GAU-8 is optimized for a slant range of 4,000 feet (1,220 m) with the A-10 in a 30-degree dive.
The fuselage of the aircraft is built around the cannon. The GAU-8/A
is mounted slightly to the port side; the barrel in the firing location
is on the starboard side at the 9 o'clock position so it is aligned with
the aircraft's centerline. The gun's 5-foot, 11.5-inch (1.816 m)
ammunition drum can hold up to 1,350 rounds of 30 mm ammunition, but generally holds 1,174 rounds.
To protect the GAU-8/A rounds from enemy fire, armor plates of
differing thicknesses between the aircraft skin and the drum are
designed to detonate incoming shells.
The
AGM-65 Maverick
air-to-surface missile is a commonly used munition, targeted via
electro-optical (TV-guided) or infrared. The Maverick allows target
engagement at much greater ranges than the cannon, and thus less risk
from anti-aircraft systems. During
Desert Storm, in the absence of dedicated
forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras for night vision, the Maverick's infrared camera was used for night missions as a "poor man's FLIR". Other weapons include
cluster bombs and
Hydra rocket pods. The A-10 is equipped to carry
laser-guided bombs. A-10s usually fly with an ALQ-131
ECM pod under one wing and two
AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles under the other wing for self-defense.
Data from The Great Book of Modern Warplanes, Fairchild-Republic A/OA-10, USAF
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m)
- Wingspan: 57 ft 6 in (17.53 m)
- Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
- Wing area: 506 ft² (47.0 m²)
- Airfoil: NACA 6716 root, NACA 6713 tip
- Empty weight: 24,959 lb (11,321 kg)
- Loaded weight: 30,384 lb (13,782 kg)
CAS mission: 47,094 lb (21,361 kg)
Anti-armor mission: 42,071 lb (19,083 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 50,000 lb (23,000 kg)
- Internal fuel capacity: 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × General Electric TF34-GE-100A turbofans, 9,065 lbf (40.32 kN) each
Performance
- Never exceed speed: 450 knots (518 mph, 833 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m) with 18 Mk 82 bombs[184]
- Maximum speed: 381 knots (439 mph, 706 km/h) at sea level, clean
- Cruise speed: 300 knots (340 mph, 560 km/h)
- Stall speed: 120 knots (138 mph, 220 km/h)
- Combat radius:
- CAS mission: 250 nmi (288 mi, 460 km) at 1.88 hour loiter at 5,000 ft (1,500 m), 10 min combat
- Anti-armor mission: 252 nmi (290 mi, 467 km), 40 nmi (45 mi, 75 km)) sea-level penetration and exit, 30 min combat
- Ferry range: 2,240 nmi (2,580 mi, 4,150 km) with 50 knot (55 mph, 90 km/h) headwinds, 20 minutes reserve
- Service ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,700 m)
- Rate of climb: 6,000 ft/min (30 m/s)
- Wing loading: 99 lb/ft² (482 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.36
Armament
- Guns: 1× 30 mm (1.18 in) GAU-8/A Avenger rotary cannon with 1,174 rounds (capacity 1,350 rd)
- Hardpoints:
11 (8× under-wing and 3× under-fuselage pylon stations) with a capacity
of 16,000 lb (7,260 kg) and provisions to carry combinations of:
- Rockets:
- 4× LAU-61/LAU-68 rocket pods (each with 19× / 7× Hydra 70 mm/APKWS[186] rockets, respectively)
- 4× LAU-5003 rocket pods (each with 19× CRV7 70 mm rockets)
- 6× LAU-10 rocket pods (each with 4× 127 mm (5.0 in) Zuni rockets)
- Missiles:
- Bombs:
- Other:
Avionics
- AN/AAS-35(V) Pave Penny laser tracker pod (mounted beneath right side of cockpit) for use with Paveway LGBs (Currently the Pave Penny is no longer in use)
- Head-up display (HUD) for improved technical flying and air-to-ground support.
