A-10 ground support plane (Generals)

## Notes

* Cannot be constructed or commanded
* Immune to EMP

The **A-10 Thunderbolt II**, also known as the **A-10 Warthog** or more simply the **A-10**, is a heavy attack aircraft deployed exclusively by the United States and its branches during the War Against the GLA.

## Background

A-10s are nimble but well-armored strike aircraft that only sufficiently authorized generals could call to the battlefield. They were seen in teams of one to as many as three throughout the conflict, but often not for long; between the gunfire from their nose-mounted Gatling gun and their underwing missiles, typically only heavier assets caught within their attacks survived, and even so the aircraft were gone soon after.

## Game Unit

The A-10 itself can survive quite a beating, and their high speed meant that they were unlikely to remain under slower enemy fire for very long (the only unit who could both attack and keep up with them being fighter aircraft). Their odds for survival against missile-based antiaircraft fire can also be increased via the Countermeasures upgrade at the air field. Like most aircraft called in from off-field, A10s were additionally plated with special EMP-immune armor that forced normally efficient weapons such as the EMP Patriot Battery to tear them apart the hard way.

However, they were still far from immortal. They were far from the most durable vehicle in the game (that honor belonging to the Chinese Overlord), and their anti-missile systems came to naught if they were under fire from bullets or American lasers. A-10s were also not fitted to take on aircraft, which meant that multiple fighter aircraft or properly-equipped attack gunships could down them (the latter of which could circumvent their anti-missile measures entirely, relying on bullets instead). It was worth noting that the Chinese Helix (the only *gunship* in the war that could perform air-to-air combat) was rather slow, however, which made fighter aircraft a favorite for interception despite their lengthy launch time.

The A-10's biggest weakness stemmed from the role they were relegated to, however. They were deployed to the field to strike a specific *area*, and would ignore everything else en route (including potential threats, regardless of weakness). This also meant they failed to track any targets who fled their target strike zone before the A-10s arrived. They also entered the battlefield from unpredictable (and sometimes undesirable) locations, which occasionally made their deployment a pain.

## Trivia

* A-10s uniquely execute a dive when attacking.
* A-10s are capable of earning veterancy, and even have voicelines assigned for Pilot ejection, but they seldom actually destroy enough to gain a rank and lack the actual logic for the ejection itself.
* The missiles fired from the A-10 are not a part of its weapons list, but are instead manually spawned throughout the course of the support power's execution.
* Being a support power-specific unit, A-10s are not equipped with point-defense lasers, even those under General Granger.
* The A-10 is modeled after the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt currently in service to the United States Air Force (USAF). They perform a similar role as depicted in game (close air support), are equipped with both an autocannon and missiles, and boast impressive durability.