Stars and Stripes
May 6, 2022

‘Warthogs’ return to Europe for large military drills

Ten Maryland Air National Guard A-10C Thunderbolt II jets arrived in Iceland on Thursday, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa said in a statement Friday.

Designed to destroy Soviet tanks during the Cold War, the iconic attack plane nicknamed for the guttural sound its cannon makes is expected to train over various parts of Europe.

They will support the U.S. Army’s Swift Response, an exercise involving some 9,000 allied troops slated to last until May 20.

The training kicked off this week along with other exercises involving the U.S. military and its partners across Europe, with large concentrations of forces in the Baltic and Black Sea regions. The drills are intended to showcase rapid mobilization.

Four of the A-10s will head from Iceland to Norway on Friday while the other six are due to fly to North Macedonia on Saturday to support exercise operations, USAFE-AFAFRICA said.

The planes are also scheduled to make stops in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland to conduct what the Air Force calls agile combat employment. It entails the rapid dispersion and operation of aircraft from forward locations.