Two 190th Fighter Squadron A-10Cs caught at Lajes during stopover enroute back to CONUS from Afghanistan deployment

On September 27, 2010, Warthog News contributor André Inácio from Portugal had the opportunity to catch two A-10Cs from the 190th Fighter Squadron, 124th Wing (Idaho Air National Guard), Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho, as they arrived at Lajes Field, Azores, for stopover enroute back to Continental United States (CONUS) after supporting the 81st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

Today, after solving some problems with his PC, André e-mailed me the following two exclusive pictures. As he told me, both Hogs arrived 2:10 pm (local time) and departed Lajes for CONUS on September 29. Escorting tanker was KC-135 61-0277 based at Kansas.



A-10C 78-0703 with usual white IDAHO tail band inscription. (Photo by André Inácio) Full size



A-10C 79-0194 with red IDAHO tail band inscription and marked 124 OG as the 124th Operations Group's bird. (Photo by André Inácio) Full size

Job well done again, André! And special thanks for sharing your exclusive pictures. They are very important to document A-10 OEF combat deployments.

Note:
These two A-10Cs were announced to arrive at Lajes as Mazda 85-86. Serial numbers:
78-0703 and 79-0194 (marked as 124th Operation Group commander's aircraft). Supporting tanker was KC-135 61-0277 from Kansas. Both Hogs were part of a surge deployment to reinforce the 81st EFS at Kandahar. Also part of this surge deployment were six additional Hogs from the 81st Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem AB, Germany.

See also:
Two 190th Fighter Squadron A-10Cs logged at Lajes during stopover enroute back to CONUS from Afghanistan deployment
Two 190th Fighter Squadron A-10s logged at Lajes