A-10C Sargent Fletcher external fuel tank

[DUSTY]

Probably not news to many of you but I thought I'd post this nonetheless:

 

Interesting to see they're trying to lengthen the legs of the Hawg. The types of COIN sorties they fly these days in A-stan with multiple trips to the tanker must finally be getting reviewed. How about that loadout too!

 

 

From the Warthog News Facebook page:

 

"An A-10C Thunderbolt II from the 40th Flight Test Squadron, moves down the runway at Eglin AFB, Florida. The aircraft is loaded up with weaponry to test the combat carriage limits of the Sargent Fletcher external fuel tank. The A-10 flight personnel are testing to ensure the A-10 can carry the tank into a combat environment safely. If proven to be safe to carry, the tank will add up to 60 minutes of flighttime to its combat sortie. (U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King Jr.) Note: Pictured is A-10C 81-0989 from the 40th Flight Test Squadron, 46th Test Wing (ACC), Eglin AFB, Florida. Date of shot isn't mentioned in the original photo caption. But according to this photo's official U.S. military VIRIN code and also to EXIF data, it should be taken August 14, 2013."

Edited August 27, 2013 by |DUSTY|

[DUSTY]

Another pic:

 

[XtraChrisP]

That's a whoooole lotta GBUs

[strikeeagle]

Y'all know that is a test airplane right?

[NineLine]

I was gonna say, looks like they stole one of my custom load-outs :)

 

Y'all know that is a test airplane right?

[countto10]

Interesting to see they're trying to lengthen the legs of the Hawg.

Last I heard they were trying to cut off the Hawg's legs. What's the word on that? Is it still to be phased out?

[Cali]

When I was stationed in Alaska during every exercise they would hang ext tanks on the hawgs. We would have to go out and do op cks on them to make sure they would transfer....that's the one of the few times a ext tank would be on a hawg.

[DUSTY]

Y'all know that is a test airplane right?

 

 

Please forgive me, I always love an excuse to post that meme. :D

 

 

 

When I was stationed in Alaska during every exercise they would hang ext tanks on the hawgs. We would have to go out and do op cks on them to make sure they would transfer....that's the one of the few times a ext tank would be on a hawg.

 

Was that during a 'combat' (rather training) sortie though, or just for the ferry flight to/from the exercise?

 

When the Hawgs deploy around the globe they always seem to take external tanks and travel pods but what interested me about these pics is that they were testing them for use during combat sorties.

[strikeeagle]

 

Please forgive me, I always love an excuse to post that meme. :D

 

 

I'm gonna use it myself :megalol:

[Cali]

 

Was that during a 'combat' (rather training) sortie though, or just for the ferry flight to/from the exercise?

 

When the Hawgs deploy around the globe they always seem to take external tanks and travel pods but what interested me about these pics is that they were testing them for use during combat sorties.

 

That was only during "training", of course they had a few munitions on, but nothing like the pic in this thread. The pilots didn't like flying with ext tanks on. We eventually just started checking the station (pylon) to see if it would transfer with a piece of equipment that we called R2D2, cause it looked just like the Star Wars droid. I wish I had a pic of it, but that was 10 years ago.