A report on United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command and Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

The first F-35 Lightning II of the 33rd Fighter Wing arriving at Eglin AFB

An A-10 of the 74th Fighter Squadron after taking on fuel over Afghanistan (2011)

An Air Force RQ-4 strategic reconnaissance aircraft

An Air Force KC-46 Pegasus refuels a C-17A Globemaster III

By the time of the Vietnam War, the 1940s-vintage propeller-driven Skyraider was the USAF's only dedicated close air support aircraft. It was slow, vulnerable to ground fire, and relatively lightly armed.

An Air Force A-10 demonstrating close air support at Nellis AFB

The Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne appeared to offer the possibility of handing much of the tactical air-to-ground role to the U.S. Army.

Test launch of a LGM-30 Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from Vandenberg AFB

Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base

Roundels that have appeared on U.S. military aircraft
1.) 5/1917–2/1918
2.) 2/1918–8/1919
3.) 8/1919–5/1942
4.) 5/1942–6/1943
5.) 6/1943–9/1943
6.) 9/1943–1/1947
7.) 1/1947–

A-10C Warthog cockpit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 2012 Become a Pilot Day

The SR-71 Blackbird was a Cold War reconnaissance plane.

The F-117 Nighthawk was a stealth attack aircraft (retired from service in April 2008).

Front view of an A-10 showing the 30 mm cannon and offset front landing gear

A row of Douglas C-54 Skymasters during the Berlin Airlift in 1949

This A-10 piloted by Captain Kim Campbell suffered extensive damage during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, including damage to the hydraulic system, but she flew it safely back to base on manual reversion mode.

Various Air Force personnel pose during the Air Force's 74th birthday celebration at the Pentagon, September 17, 2021.

Front view of the A-10's GAU-8 installation

Organization of the United States Air Force within the Department of Defense

AN ALQ-184 ECM Pod on display at a USAF museum. It is mounted on either pylon 1 or 11 (outside pylons) on the A-10C

Pararescuemen and a simulated "survivor" watch as an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter comes in for a landing

An A-10 from the 343rd Tactical Fighter Wing prepares to drop Mark 82 bombs at the Yukon Command Training Site in 1988.

U.S. Air Force trainee demonstrating a butt stroke on a strike dummy as part of Basic Military Training.

Arkansas Air National Guard A-10C firing an AGM-65 air-to-surface missile on a firing range at Davis-Monthan AFB

A-10A after Operation Desert Storm, 1992

A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft

A C-17 Globemaster III, the USAF's newest and most versatile transport plane

An A-10 peels away from a KC-135 tanker over Afghanistan, February 2011 with Pave Penny pod visible and featuring a false canopy painted in dark gray on the underside.

E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system

23rd Fighter Group A-10 Thunderbolt IIs on alert

F-22 Raptor stealth air superiority fighter

U.S. Air Force crewmen perform maintenance on an A-10's nose in the Persian Gulf region in 2003

KC-10 Extender tri-jet air-to-air tanker

A newly updated A-10C arrives at Davis-Monthan AFB, 29 November 2006.

Four A-10s of the 103d Fighter Squadron, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, fly in formation during a refueling mission.

RQ-170 Sentinel stealth unmanned aerial vehicle reconnaissance aircraft

A-10C of the 163d Fighter Squadron, Fort Wayne Air National Guard

USAF A-10A showing kill markings from Operation Desert Storm, 1991

A WC-130J Hercules from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron

An A-10 firing its 30 mm GAU-8 Gatling gun during testing

An unarmed Minuteman III ICBM shoots out of the silo during an operational test launch

The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.

- Air Force Reserve Command

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF).

- Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

It has a $156.3 billion budget and is the second largest service branch, with 329,614 active duty airmen, 172,857 civilian personnel, 69,056 reserve airmen, and 107,414 Air National Guard airmen.

- United States Air Force

Air Combat Command (ACC) F-22A Raptor air dominance fighters, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15E Strike Eagle multipurpose fighters, A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft, MQ-1 Predator remotely-piloted aircraft are jointly operated by ACC active duty personnel and AFRC aircrews via Associate units.

- Air Force Reserve Command

A-10C Thunderbolt II

- United States Air Force

The A-10 has been flown exclusively by the United States Air Force and its Air Reserve components, the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and the Air National Guard (ANG).

- Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

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Air National Guard

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A Galludet Tractor biplane which the New York National Guard aviators rented in 1915

Captain Charles A. Lindbergh, Missouri National Guard, and members of his National Guard unit, 110th Observation Squadron, after he flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean, 1927

Following a devastating blizzard in 1949, Colorado ANG C-47s dropped hay to stranded and starving livestock throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Altogether the Colorado Air Guardsmen flew 17 such missions dropping tons of hay that saved thousands of cattle and wildlife. Colorado ANG F-51s and A-26s also flew 10 reconnaissance missions during that emergency, 29 January 1949.

Captain John McMahn and Sergeant White, of the 182nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron, Texas Air National Guard, close out flight records at Taegu AB (K-2), South Korea, following their F-84E Thunderjet becoming the first such aircraft to complete 1,000 flying hours, 1952

An Air National Guard Lockheed F-104A-25-LO Starfighter (AF Ser. No. 56-0863) from the 157th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, South Carolina Air National Guard, at McEntire Air National Guard Base, South Carolina

F-84F Thunderstreaks of the 110th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 131st Tactical Fighter Wing, Missouri Air National Guard, Toul Air Base, France – Deployed as a result of the Berlin Crisis 1961/62

An F-104A Starfighter interceptor from the 157th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, South Carolina Air National Guard, being loaded aboard a C-124 Globemaster II for shipment to Europe during the Berlin crisis, 1961

A ground crew preparing an F-100 of the Colorado Air National Guard's 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron for combat missions at Phan Rang Air Base, South Vietnam, 1968

A Lockheed EC-121S Coronet Solo from the 193rd Tactical Electric Warfare Group, Pennsylvania Air National Guard

110th Tactical Fighter Squadron McDonnell F-4C-23-MC Phantom II, AF Ser. No. 64-0749, of the Missouri ANG at Lambert Field ANGB, St Louis, MO, 1980

A-7 Corsair II aircraft of the Iowa ANG and South Dakota ANG flying near RAF Waddington, UK. These aircraft were deployed to the United Kingdom from 21 August to 12 September 1979 for NATO Exercise CORONET STALLION.

A New York Air National Guard F-16 pilot from the 174th Tactical Fighter Wing, 138th Tactical Fighter Squadron, preparing to take-off on a combat mission from a Saudi Arabian base during Operation Desert Storm, 1991

A Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II (AF Ser. No. 78-0652) from the 138th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 174th Tactical Fighter Wing, New York Air National Guard

An Air National Guard A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft from the 104th Fighter Group, Massachusetts Air National Guard, taxis on the runway at Aviano Air Base, Italy to take off for NATO airstrikes against the Bosnian Serbs, 6 September 1995

Emblem of the 107th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Michigan Air National Guard. Used at Balad Air Base during Operation Iraqi Freedom

An F-15C Eagle from 102nd Fighter Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard, flies a combat air patrol over New York City as part of Operation Noble Eagle. F-15s from the 102nd were the first to arrive on scene over the World Trade Center following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

F-16s of the 119th Fighter Wing, North Dakota Air National Guard, flying a combat air patrol over Washington, DC, and the Pentagon in Operation Noble Eagle, November 2001

Personnel assigned to the 321st Air Expeditionary Squadron offloading supplies from a C-130H Hercules aircraft assigned to the 187th Airlift Squadron, 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, at Kandahar, Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom

Paktia Province, Afghanistan, 4 March 2002, Technical Sergeant Keary Miller of the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron, Kentucky Air National Guard, not only managed to drag a wounded helicopter pilot to safety at Taka Ghur, but also orchestrated the establishment of multiple casualty collection points. In between treating the wounded, Miller set up the distribution of ammunition for the Army Rangers who were taking the fight to the enemy. For his extraordinary life-saving efforts while putting himself in extreme danger under enemy fire, Sergeant Miller was awarded the Silver Star. (Keith Rocco, The Battle of Takur Ghar, National Guard Heritage Painting.)

Munitions personnel from the 160th Fighter Squadron, 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, assigned to the 410th Air Expeditionary Wing at a forward deployed location work on guided munitions on the pylon of one of their F-16C Fighting Falcons. The Falcon has an AIM-120A Advanced Medium Air-to-Air Missile fixed to the wing tip. The 410th Air Expeditionary Wing prepares the aircraft for take off for sorties on A-Day, the commencement of the air war for Operation Iraqi Freedom, 19 March 2003.

Commando Solo EC-130E from the 193rd Special Operations Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, sits on the ramp at undisclosed location during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom in late 2005

A C-130E Hercules cargo aircraft from the 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard,
rigged with a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) making a Phos-Chek fire retardant drop on the Simi Fire in Southern California, 28 October 2003

Members of the Indiana Air National Guard participating in an emergency operation after recent flooding in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1 March 1982

LC-130Hs equipped with landing skis, operated by the 139th Airlift Squadron, 109th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard, parked on the ice pack at McMurdo Station at Ross Island in Antarctica during Operation Deep Freeze 2001. The unit operates six LC-130s between Christchurch, New Zealand, and a number of U.S. National Science Foundation stations located on the Antarctic ice pack, 5 November 2001. (Photographer: MSgt Joe Cupido, Air Force photo)

U.S. Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, the 28th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, conducts a transition of responsibility order for newly promoted Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh during a Change of Responsibility ceremony at the Pentagon July 28, 2020.

The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Like the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), the ANG is often described as a "reserve" force of "part-time airmen," although the demands of maintaining modern aircraft mean that many AFRC and ANG members work full-time, either as full-time Air Reserve Technicians (ART) or Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) personnel.

As A-10 Thunderbolt IIs began to replace the A-7Ds in the Regular Air Force in the mid and late 1970s, additional A-7D aircraft were transferred to the ANG.