Hawg heaven? Warthog basks in the Sakhir sunshine
November 14, 2024
The Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (known to its pilots as the Warthog, or Hawg) that arrived at the Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) at Sakhir Air Base, Bahrain, on 12 November 2024, belongs to the 476th Fighter Group’s 76th Fighter Squadron, normally based at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The 476th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the United States Air Force, acting as an Air Force Reserve associate unit linked to the active duty 23d Fighter Group at Moody. The aircraft wears the traditional sharksmouth insignia of the 23rd, with the ‘FT’ tailcode associated with the 476th.
The A-10Cs of the 76th Fighter Squadron transited through Rota, in Spain in late September, before arriving in the Central Command (CENTCOM) Area of Responsibility (AOR), joining F-16s of the 510th FS from Aviano Air Base, Italy, and F-15Es of the 335th FS from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, first deployed to the region in April, and F-22s of the 90th FS from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, deployed in August. Subsequently, further F-15E and F-16 squadrons deployed.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was also ordered to remain in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations, augmenting the the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and the embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC), which includes AV-8B Harrier II fighter bombers, MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors, and UH-1Y Venom, AH-1Z Viper and MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters.
This aerial Armada is intended to deter aggression and mitigate the risk of a broader regional conflict, in the light of the already sky high tensions in the area.
