Fairchild Republic—A-10 Thunderbolt II: Mission Profile Armament options: the A-10 is built around a single 30-mm GAU-8/A Avenger cannon in the nose, depressed 2 with the bulk of the weapon offset slightly to port so that the firing barrel is always on the centerline, and with a maximum capacity of 1,350 rounds; cannon rounds are high explosive or armor piercing, the latter having a dense depleted uranium core; the gun has two selectable rates of fire, 2,100 or 4,200 rpm; three fuselage and eight wing hardpoints (one fuselage station usually not employed) for the carriage of most stores in US inventory, including conventional low-drag and retarded bombs, cluster-bomb units, and AGM-65 Maverick missile; US-based A-10s carry the AN/ALQ-119 ECM pod while those stationed overseas carry the AN/ALQ-131 ECM; one outboard wing station is usually reserved for the ECM pod, the other for two AIM-9L/M Sidewinder missiles; ferry configuration is with one or two wing drop-tanks Close air support and anti-armor: on a typical CAS mission the A-10 flies to a radius of 475 miles (764 km) with 1,350 rounds of ammunition for the GAU-8/A, two AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles (on LAU-117 rails on stations 3 and 9), AN/ALQ-131 ECM pod, and two AIM-9M Sidewinders (stations 8 and 11) Forward air control: the OA-10 dedicated forward air control (FAC) aircraft also has a combat radius of 475 miles (764 km) with 1,350 rounds of ammunition for the GAU-8/A and a full ordnance load—in practice, the USAF does not want the OA-10 carrying full ordnance; with a lighter load of just two rocket pods and Sidewinders, radius of the OA-10 increases to around 885 km (550 miles) A-10A: A total of six pre-production and 707 production A-10As were ordered between 1975 and 1982 for tactical squadrons in the USA, Europe and the Pacific, as well as the Reserves. · 73-1664 to 73-1669; 75-0258 to 75-0309; 76-0512 to 76-0554; 77-0177 to 77-0276; 78-0582 to 78-0725; 79-0082 to 79-0225; 80-0140 to 80-0283; 81-0939 to 81-0998; 82-0646 to 82-0665