A-10C air to air

[Cmptohocah]

I don't fly A-10C, so maybe you people could help me understand what's the deal with the A-10Cs air-to-air "superpower".
Here is a link to a video stream recorded by, a very capable A-10, driver against me in a MiG-29A: https://streamable.com/x7pwob

The video starts after he turns 180 degrees towards me from being cold, then he somehow gets two very short tones on his AIM-9s and he fires both of 'em. The first missile launch happens at 12km, followed by the second one at 11.1km.

My questions: does the A-10C have some sort of targeting pod which allowed him to "see" me at that distance? How come such a short tone allows firing an AIM-9? Was he able to "see" me visually somehow at 12km? Was he just lucky to pick me up (I highly doubt this one)?

 

Edit: just realized he had an GCI window showing him the bearing/distance and height.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Cmptohocah
Added new relevant information.

[dundun92]

Also, to add, spotting at 12km, even 20+kmn isnt particularly hard if you are expecting a threat since ED added the small dot labels a few weeks ago.

[Cmptohocah]

43 minutes ago, dundun92 said:

Also, to add, spotting at 12km, even 20+kmn isnt particularly hard if you are expecting a threat since ED added the small dot labels a few weeks ago.

Oh wow, I did not realize that. It makes so much more sense. Thanks @dundun92

[QuiGon]

I'm flying the A-10C in DCS for almost 10 years now and it's still my favorite aircraft (besides the Tomcat and the Viggen), meaning I still fly it all the time and I usually do that on the BlueFlag servers with PvP engagements. I've a much better A/A kill ratio with the A-10C there than I have with most fighter aircraft. I sometimes deliberately go into A-A fights with the Warthog as I feel really comfortable doing that and winning the fight.

 

Now why is that? Well, the Warthog has some really great features for A-A combat:

- It's incredibly maneuverable and can turn on a dime. If you end up in a circle fight against the Hog you probably gonna have a hard time (especially if the Warthog got rid of his external stores and has a experienced pilot).

- It has the AIM-9M, which is a pretty good WVR-weapon and it has a great HUD and outstanding HOTAS controls to employ it very quick and effectively.

- It has a lot of countermeassures (chaff/flare) and its engines have a pretty low IR signature. It's almost impossible to hit an A-10C with a heat seeker missile if the A-10C is flaring and temporarily puts the engines on idle.

- It has great all around visibility.

- It's very easy to fly and very forgiving, despite the lack of fly by wire.

 

When I fly the Warthog and go head on with an enemy fighter I usually go as low to the ground as I can, go 90° to notch his radar and employ chaff. Doing that I have a ~90% success rate to dodge all his radar guided missiles and bring him to the merge. When it comes to the merge I either turn hot into him if there is a gap between his missile shots, in order to fire a Sidewinder head on. If he doesn't give me that chance by spamming lots of missiles at me, I will stay defensive and use lots of flares and engine idling to dodge his heat seeking missiles. I then use my much smaller turning circle to outturn him and eventually get a shot at him.

If the terrain has some hills to duck behind, it makes it more easy to survive the BVR part and get to the merge. It's also really helpful if you have AWACS/GCI guidance that keeps you up to date on the bandits position when BVR. The TGP of the A-10C is of limited use in BVR as it's rather difficult to get it to lock on an enemy fighter.

 

With these tactics I have defeated more fighters than I can count in my Warthog. It also helps that many fighter jocks underestimate the A-A capabilities of the A-10 and let their guard down.

 

Here's an interesting article from a real life A-10C pilot who teached A-A combat in the A-10 at the USAF fighter weapons school: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38894/fighter-pilots-reveal-why-you-dont-want-to-mess-with-the-a-10-warthog-in-a-dogfight

Edited February 10, 2021 by QuiGon

[Foka]

Regarding your questions - all of above

TGP of A-10C has A-A mode in which you can find and track planes and slave Sidewinder to TGP.
Sidewinder can "find" target by itself - you can boresight the tracking head of the missile or uncage it and it will scan the sky in front of the plane. So you can get a lock even when you can't see the target.