Earlier this month I was really big surprised by some shots taken by Warthog News contributor Bruce Smith from the United States, covering the 358th Fighter Squadron "Lobos", 355th Fighter Wing (ACC), Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, during the recent exercise Green Flag - West, held at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The surprise was: At least some of the jets carried a GBU-12 Paveway II LGB either on station 1 or on station 11! Just after realizing all of that, I asked Bruce for more related pictures. And some days ago he e-mailed me much more related stuff, including the following exclusive picture:
A-10C 80-0270 (2013-01-23). (Photo by Bruce Smith) Full size
Loadout configuration:
Station 1: Dual Rail Adapter (DRA) with an ACMI (Air Combat Maneuvering and Instrumentation) pod
Station 2: LAU-131 Rocket Pod
Station 3: CATM-65 Maverick (training)
Station 4: GBU-38 JDAM
Station 5: Mk.82 dumb bomb
Station 6: empty pylon
Station 7: Mk.82 dumb bomb
Station 8: LAU-131 Rocket Pod (unusual on this station)
Station 9: CATM-65 Maverick (training)
Station 10: AN/AAQ-28 LITENING AT targeting pod
Station 11: GBU-12 (!!!)
A-10C 80-0279 (2013-01-23). (Photo by Bruce Smith) Full size
Note: GBU-12 also on station 11.
A-10C 80-0195 (2013-01-23). (Photo by Bruce Smith) Full size
Note: GBU-12 also on station 11.
A-10C 80-0151 (2013-01-23). (Photo by Bruce Smith) Full size
Note: GBU-12 also on station 11.
A-10C 82-0659, marked 358TH FS/CC (2013-01-23). (Photo by Bruce Smith) Full size
Note: GBU-12 on station 1.
And here's again the picture which surprised me:
A-10C 82-0659, marked 358TH FS/CC as the squadron commander's aircraft (2013-01-23). (Photo by Bruce Smith) Full size
The problem is:
Normally there are no bombs loaded on the A-10's outboard stations 1 and 11 (and if I remember right also not on stations 2 and 10). Currently, single bombs are usually loaded on stations 4, 5, 7 and 8. Typicall for stations 1 and 11 are either a Dual Rail Adapter (DRA) - either with an ACMI (Air Combat Maneuvering and Instrumentation) pod or with up to two AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missiles - or an ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) pod. Current combat loadout configs of Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF), Afghanistan, are showing empty pylons on stations 1 and 11 because there are no related threats.
Question:
Are stations 1 and 11 wired to drop a laser-guided GBU-12? (The GBU-12s pictured in the photos above are looking to me like live bombs)
Please note: This post will be updated soon.
See also: GBU-12 on station 1 (!) (?)
Posts
Any bomb (GBU-12 or otherwise) on 1 or 11 is a little non-standard. However, you answer your own question in the very first picture. Every other station is loaded with some sort of ordnance. ....So they loaded a GBU-12 on the last available pylon. What's the big deal? Here's another picture of Mk-82s loaded on both 1 and 11:
ReplyDeletehttp://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee198/tman22969/558651_4497586887375_1519752929_n_zpsbe0a6e3a.jpg
"Are stations 1 and 11 wired to drop a laser-guided GBU-12?"
.......yes. Not trying to be rude here, but seems like common-sense. Of course they are. Why would you strap a bomb to a station that it couldn't drop from???