Members of the 104th Fighter Squadron will be flying a dozen A-10s as the battle rages to re-take Mosul from Islamic State control.
As a matter of security, Col. Charles Kohler of the Maryland National Guard remains cryptic about the details.
"Over the last few weeks, we've deployed more than 280 Airman in support of ongoing operations in the Middle East," said Kohler.
"These aircraft are designed really for close air support,” Kohler said. “In other words, for the person on the ground to be able to contact aircraft immediately and have that aircraft with time-on target immediately and that's what these aircraft were designed for and that's what they're very good for."
In recent years, the A-10s have become an afterthought for the Air Force as it invests in what it deems its aircraft of the future---the F-35 fighter plane.
The A-10s, based in Middle River, have long been viewed as dispensable, and right now, there's no guarantee they'll survive beyond a few more years of service.
But the slow, lumbering aircraft have proven to be quite effective against enemy ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade.
"That aircraft gives the pilot actual eyes on the target so he can see what he's striking,” Kohler said. “He's not up at high altitudes where he's dropping bombs or missiles from a long ways away. He's actual up close and personal and actually seeing the targets that he's hitting."
With their armor-piercing, 30 millimeter rotary cannons, our ground forces have long appreciated the A-10s’ air support, while the enemy has come to fear them.
"I've heard from the pilots that they can tell that.... and even the person on the ground---our own air controllers... when they talk to the A-10s and they come in, you can hear that engine and it makes a unique winding sound,” Kohler said. “And they've actually seen enemy disengage just for the fact that the aircraft is in the area."
Kohler says this is a four-month deployment, and with the future of the A-10s in question, it could be the last one for the brave airmen from Middle River.
