{"product_id":"a-10-thunderbolt-ii-units-of-operation-enduring-freedom-2002-07","title":"A-10 Thunderbolt II Units of Operation Enduring Freedom 2002-07","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=unicode\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cmeta name=\"GENERATOR\" content=\"MSHTML 11.00.10570.1001\"\u003e\u003cspan style='FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-FAMILY: \"Amazon Ember\", Arial, sans-serif; WHITE-SPACE: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; FLOAT: none; FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: rgb(15,17,17); FONT-STYLE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; WIDOWS: 2; DISPLAY: inline !important; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial'\u003eIn \nthe early 1970s, the USAF, still fresh in the mire of the Vietnam War, began the \nsearch for a more effective aircraft to conduct the CAS mission. With aircraft \nlosses climbing, the need for an aircraft that could withstand punishment as \nwell as deliver it was unmistakable. Looking at past experience in Southeast \nAsia as well as the present and future threat in Western Europe of a numerically \nsuperior Soviet Army, the USAF demanded that the new aircraft be built around a \n30 mm cannon. Fairchild Republic won the resulting A-X competition in 1973 and \nGeneral Electric was chosen the following year to build the jet's GAU-8 30 mm \nmain gun. Some 715 A-10s were subsequently built between 1975 and 1984. The A-10 \nwas never a favourite amongst the USAF's senior staff, and prior to Iraq's \ninvasion of Kuwait in 1990 they had attempted to transfer the aircraft to the US \nArmy and Marine Corps. Everything changed when Operation Desert Storm began, as \nthe A-10 quickly showed what it was capable of. Reprieved from premature \nretirement, the A-10 would see combat in the Balkans during the mid-1990s and \nover Iraq in Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch until Operation Iraqi \nFreedom began in 2003. Following the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United \nStates, the Bush administration responded with the instigation of Operation \nEnduring Freedom in Afghanistan in October 2001. A-10 aircraft first entered the \nfray during Operation Anaconda in March 2002, flying first from an airfield in \nPakistan and then from Bagram AB in Afghanistan. During Anaconda four A-10s \nflying from Pakistan provided 21 straight hours of FAC (A)\/CAS coverage. Since \nthen the flexibility of the A-10 has persisted, with units moving through \nairfields in Afghanistan under AEF deployments. This ongoing commitment has seen \nactive duty, Reserve and Air National Guard squadrons rotating through Bagram \nand Kandahar airfields in support of Coalition forces in-theatre. The premier \nCAS aircraft in Afghanistan, the once disposable A-10 has become indispensable. \nWith new upgrades, the 'digital' A-10C has seen its arsenal expanded to include \nthe latest generation of ordnance. The untold story of the A-10 in Enduring \nFreedom will be explored and presented as never before through first hand \ninterviews and photography from those involved, along with official military \nachieves. This title is the first of three planned covering the combat \nexperience of the USAF's A-10 Thunderbolt II units. Follow-on volumes will \nexamine the role of the Warthog during Operation Desert Storm and Operation \nIraqi Freedom.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Shop EAA Merchandise","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58145040859439,"sku":"2274209000000","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/9272\/5551\/files\/A-10ThunderboltIIUnitsofOperationEnduringFreedom07-07.jpg?v=1787084841","url":"https:\/\/shop.eaa.org\/products\/a-10-thunderbolt-ii-units-of-operation-enduring-freedom-2002-07","provider":"Shop EAA Merchandise","version":"1.0","type":"link"}