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Post by Robert on Jun 19, 2016 10:45:23 GMT -7
That’s right folks, everybody’s favorite fire-breathing pig had a two seat cousin, built from an existing single-seater as a demonstrator for an all weather and night attack expansion of the A-10A Warthog. The A-10B N/AW (Night / All Weather) would attempt to make the A-10 more exportable as well as more relevant to the USAF, and a few countries were actually interested in the B model as a sea control platform focused on littoral “brown water” and anti-piracy operations. Included in the A-10B N/AW concept were an advanced inertial navigation system, a cutting edge HUD, improved radios, terrain following radar, low light TV camera, FLIR and laser targeting pods amongst other improvements. The A-10B N/AW was test in 1979-1980 with positive results, but alas, by the early 1990s, with the Air Force brass firmly in love with super fast, super thirsty and singularly crewed tactical aircraft, the A-10B N/AW was killed and in its place the powers the be promised the A-10 would get the modular LANTIRN night targeting and navigational system. This never happened, which is not a surprise as the mutli-role F-16 Block 40 received the system instead. (courtesy of aviationintel.com )
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