A-10s make rare highway landing near Russian border

[Beaudreaux]

A-10s make rare highway landing near Russian border

(CNN) — Four U.S. Air Force A-10 "Warthogs" jets landed Monday on the remote Jägala highway in Estonia near the Russian border, the first such practice road landing in over 30 years.

The maneuver in Estonia, a NATO member that shares a 183-mile long border with Russia and sits about 100 miles from St. Petersburg, comes amid heightened tensions with Russia.

These so-called "austere" highway landings were relatively common during the Cold War as military planners sought contingencies in case air bases were destroyed in a large-scale conflict.

But the Air Force has not seen the need to practice this type of landing in the last three decades.

Retired Air Force Col. John "JV" Venable told CNN that these landings would be critical if Russia were to ever mount an attack on NATO's Baltic members.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are definitely "targets of interest for (Russian President Vladimir Putin) and Russia," he said.

[...]

Another video of the exercise, showing the Combat Controller, an A-10 Warthog landing, taxying, and then tack-off from a highway in Estonia -

 

[Lutherf]

Davis-Monthan AFB here in Tucson is one of the main training bases for the A-10. I'd love to see them try that on I-10!:lol:

 

[Moot]

This is probably a good indication they're going to keep the A-10s.

I just hate the idea that we might be entering into another cold war.

 

[Beaudreaux]

Davis-Monthan AFB here in Tucson is one of the main training bases for the A-10. I'd love to see them try that on I-10!:lol:

I'd love to see the looks on driver's faces when they looked in their rear view mirror and see an A-10 on final.

 

[EnigmaO01]

Seem to remember A-10's as slow and vulnerable to ground fire and more maneuverable fighter jets like Russia's MIGs from my ANG days. I know they are known as "tank killers" but what about this?

 

[Thoreau72]

It would be way cool to see the reaction and rhetoric from the US if Russian aircraft were landing on roads in Cuba or Mexico or Honduras. :lol:

 

[Patrickt]

Seem to remember A-10's as slow and vulnerable to ground fire and more maneuverable fighter jets like Russia's MIGs from my ANG days. I know they are known as "tank killers" but what about this?

A-10s are not fighters. Fighters are not good for close air ground support. A10s are quite maneuverable, though. The survivability is related to their tough build and maneuverability. I am not an expert on military aircraft but the A10 is a beast you can admire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7JM82fa5ZY

 

[Jredbaron96]

Seem to remember A-10's as slow and vulnerable to ground fire and more maneuverable fighter jets like Russia's MIGs from my ANG days. I know they are known as "tank killers" but what about this?

While I love the A-10 as the badass tank killer it is, it's true that it's been lucky to only serve in counter insurgency operations or fight against incredibly incompetent opponents like the Iraqi Army. It was well known even when it was introduced that the latest Soviet ADA would tear it to pieces.

 

[faithful_servant]

Davis-Monthan AFB here in Tucson is one of the main training bases for the A-10. I'd love to see them try that on I-10!:lol:

Not me. One of my worst memories was watching a small plane try to land on Hwy 97. They were doing fine until they hit the powerlines crossing the highway. The blast from the power blew off the windshield and both the pilot and co-pilot went through the prop on impact. No one knows if it was the blast form the powerlines or the prop that killed them. I've always hoped it was the powerlines.

 

[Lethargic Aptitude]

Davis-Monthan AFB here in Tucson is one of the main training bases for the A-10. I'd love to see them try that on I-10!:lol:

Are they still flying over there? Im in sw New Mexico and they used to come over here a lot, but I haven't seen any in a 5 years. I know that they got their funding but still they dont seem to come over this far anymore.

 

[Lethargic Aptitude]

This is probably a good indication they're going to keep the A-10s.

I just hate the idea that we might be entering into another cold war.

The funding has been renewed until 2022.

 

[Lutherf]

Are they still flying over there? Im in sw New Mexico and they used to come over here a lot, but I haven't seen any in a 5 years. I know that they got their funding but still they dont seem to come over this far anymore.

They're definitely still flying but the practice range is the other direction from you.

 

[kanabco]

A-10s make rare highway landing near Russian border



Another video of the exercise, showing the Combat Controller, an A-10 Warthog landing, taxying, and then tack-off from a highway in Estonia -

Gave me a woody.. does every time.
This video is a message to Moscow.
What is the name of that strip of land between Russia and Kaliningrad?
That is where Russia will invade, cutting off the Balkin states.
I am pretty sure it will happen and we need to be NATO ready.

 

[beerftw]

This is probably a good indication they're going to keep the A-10s.

I just hate the idea that we might be entering into another cold war.

We are already there. Relations between russia and america got shaky under bush with his missle defense system, and got far worse under obama, now we are in a proxy war with russia.

It does not help that we have erroded the influence russia had with former soviet countries, and have continued to ignore their interests to further our own. As long as we keep pushing them, they will push back and it will deteriorate into more proxy wars as nuclear nations never like to fight head on.

 

[Moot]

We are already there. Relations between russia and america got shaky under bush with his missle defense system, and got far worse under obama, now we are in a proxy war with russia.

It does not help that we have erroded the influence russia had with former soviet countries, and have continued to ignore their interests to further our own. As long as we keep pushing them, they will push back and it will deteriorate into more proxy wars as nuclear nations never like to fight head on.

Many of those former soviet countries are now part of NATO. Is that what you mean by eroding Russian influence to further our own interests?

 

[beerftw]

Many of those former soviet countries are now part of NATO. Is that what you mean by eroding Russian influence to further our own interests?

Pretty much, to russia it looks like we are planning on invading them since we are surrounding them.

 

[Moot]

Pretty much, to russia it looks like we are planning on invading them since we are surrounding them.

A lot of them were trading partners with Russia....until the sanctions.

Are you feeling sympathy for Russia?

 

[matchlight]

This is probably a good indication they're going to keep the A-10s.

I just hate the idea that we might be entering into another cold war.

We are doing just that, thanks to the G--damned Marxist liar who continues to disgrace the White House. Eight years of his weak and inept foreign policy--if it can be dignified as a policy at all--has placed this country in a bad position in several very important areas of the world. Eastern Europe is just one of them. There could hardly be a better way to invite a major war than through repeatedly showing the spinelessness B. Hussein Obama has shown. He has encouraged Russia to take provocative actions in what used to be the Eastern Bloc. The U.S. had not had serious concerns about the security of the Baltic States for decades--until recently.

 

[beerftw]

A lot of them were trading partners with Russia....until the sanctions.

Are you feeling sympathy for Russia?

Kinda but not really. More so just upset at our country causing problems where none should exist. You can add to that list syria, libya( which is now the isis stronghold as is barely better than somalia now) iraq etc.

 

[Moot]

We are doing just that, thanks to the G--damned Marxist liar who continues to disgrace the White House. Eight years of his weak and inept foreign policy--if it can be dignified as a policy at all--has placed this country in a bad position in several very important areas of the world. Eastern Europe is just one of them. There could hardly be a better way to invite a major war than through repeatedly showing the spinelessness B. Hussein Obama has shown. He has encouraged Russia to take provocative actions in what used to be the Eastern Bloc. The U.S. had not had serious concerns about the security of the Baltic States for decades--until recently.

Trump talks about not helping NATO allies and even ending NATO altogether. So would that be much different than Obama leading from behind and making the EU and ME allies pick up more of the tab for the conflicts they help cause? Not everything is the fault of the US and Obama, you know?

 

[Moot]

Kinda but not really. More so just upset at our country causing problems where none should exist. You can add to that list syria, libya( which is now the isis stronghold as is barely better than somalia now) iraq etc.

I don't think the US is responsible for the Arab spring...or the downfall of Gadhafi ...or Assad's attack on protestors that led to a civil war....or Russia's annexation of Crimea and interference in Ukraine. There are plenty of other regional players that deserve the credit....and Britain and France are at the top of the list. They were the first to call for the ousting of Gadhafi and UN sanctions against Libya...and they deserve the credit for the chaos in Libya....not Obama.

Libya: Why Did France and Britain Lead Intervention Calls? - TIME

 

[beerftw]

I don't think the US is responsible for the Arab spring...or the downfall of Gadhafi ...or Assad's attack on protestors that led to a civil war....or Russia's annexation of Crimea and interference in Ukraine. There are plenty of other regional players that deserve the credit....and Britain and France are at the top of the list. They were the first to call for the ousting of Gadhafi and UN sanctions against Libya...and they deserve the credit for the chaos in Libya....not Obama.

Libya: Why Did France and Britain Lead Intervention Calls? - TIME

The first one arab spring the us was not responsible for starting, but it did exploit, every country the us got involved with during arab spring met turmoil, the only country ahead was tunisia, the country where it started, and the only one with no us intervention.

For gadhafi, yes the us did have a major role in that, we threw fuel into the arab spring, and funded armed and aided the rebels with airstrikes as did the un and nato. This is more evident by then sos hillary refusing to negotiate with libya.

Syria alot of those rebels and protesters were aided by the us, then we later funded moderate rebels who were heavily tied with isis, then put overthrowing assad as a higher priority than isis. Mind you the us govt and the cia has been trying to overthrow the syrian govt since assads father took power.

Back to libya, the us britain etc do next to nothing there now except send sf every so often. There is not even a central govt, the country is run by terrorist groups and militias, if those militias do not unite ike the un hopes and back the un supported govt, they will fully descend into somalia level chaos.

 

[matchlight]

Trump talks about not helping NATO allies and even ending NATO altogether. So would that be much different than Obama leading from behind and making the EU and ME allies pick up more of the tab for the conflicts they help cause? Not everything is the fault of the US and Obama, you know?

Dissolving NATO would have been a good policy, if it had been carried out when this country had the whip hand. NATO was created as part of the strategy of containing Stalin's expansionist designs after World War Two, and by, say, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, marking the end of the Cold War, it had outlived its usefulness. Now, though, however far NATO's usefulness may have declined, and however undesirable it may have become to keep an Islamist Turkey as a member of it, it may have become irresponsible for any U.S. presidential candidate to suggest dissolving it. That is how far eight years of Mr. Obama's repeated displays of weakness have tilted the balance of power in favor of Russia--we ought to get out of the thing, but we can no longer do it from a position of strength. And it would be reckless to do it any other way.

 

[Mark F]

Not sure what all the fuss is about. The Swedish Air Force operates off public roads almost as a matter of routine and has been doing so for 70 years.