GAU-8 Avenger: The Cannon That Powers the A-10 Warthog
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By Peter Suciu
January 19, 2021
U.S. Air Force photo by MSgt Jeffrey Allen
The GAU-8 Avenger is one impressive weapon system and the foundation of the A-10 Warthog, despite its age, won’t go away anytime soon.
Used for combat during the time of the Gulf War in 1991, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt – also known commonly as the “Warthog†– destroyed more than 900 Iraqi tanks, some 2,000 other military vehicles, and approximately 1,200 artillery pieces. The aircraft also reportedly shot down two Iraqi helicopters.
The aircraft was used in subsequent operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Operation Deliberate Force and later in Operation Allied Force; and it has seen deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. While the A-10 could be equipped with a variety of rockets, missiles and bombs, a lot of the destruction was wrought from the aircraft’s rotary cannon.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2021/01/19/gau-8_avenger_the_cannon_that_powers_the_a-10_warthog_657018.html
