There are few things more glorious than the furious BRRRT! of the A-10 Warthog’s GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm autocannon laying the law on ground-based foes — and now we know exactly why the sound inspires as much fear in America’s adversaries as it does joy in its allies.
The above video, published by the 137th Special Operations Wing back in 2017 and brought to our attention by our friends at Zero Blog Thirty, shows an A-10 Thunderbolt II assigned to the 175th Wing at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Maryland, unleashing a hail of lead directly onto the camera’s position.
The 175th Wing was part of a joint force deployed to Estonia in August 2017 to train with NATO allies, training that included various combined aerial-ground exercises with the 175th WG A-10s and Estonian joint tactical air controllers from Ämari Air Base.
While airmen love to brag about the A-10’s firepower in ridiculously exaggerated terms like “a cannon with wings” or “Chewbacca with chainsaw arms,” the 137th SOW video captures the brutal reality of the A-10’s close air support capabilities.
But the best part of this video comes after the salvo of 30mm shells. The camera flips, dust and smoke rising, and the last thing we see is the A-10 cruising by overhead, a solitary middle finger to what’s left of the enemy.