Unusual photos show A-10 attack aircraft built to hunt tanks escorting a ballistic missile submarine

• New US Navy photos show A-10 Warthog attack aircraft escorting a ballistic missile submarine.
• It's unusual to see ground-attack planes built for close-air support and anti-tank missions escorting a sub.

Newly released US Navy photos captured an unusual sight: multiple US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft — ground-attack planes built for close-air support and anti-tank missions — escorting a ballistic missile submarine at sea last week.

The photos, published to social media Friday by the Georgia-based Submarine Group 10, show the A-10 "Warthogs" flying above USS Wyoming (SSBN 742), an Ohio-class sub. The accompanying attack aircraft participated in a live-fire drill and were joined by two support vessels for the escort at an undisclosed location.

Submarine Group Ten wrote in a Facebook post that "joint operations, such as this one which involved the Air Force, Coast Guard, and Navy, ensure the US military is ready to meet its security commitments at home and abroad."

The A-10 is a ground-attack aircraft that has been in service since the 1970s. The plane is equipped with a seven-barrel 30mm GAU-8/A Gatling Gun that can fire up to 3,900 rounds per minute protruding from the nose. This powerful weapon has led to descriptions of the aircraft as a flying cannon, but it can also carry other ordnance, such as rockets, missiles, and bombs.

The twin-engine aircraft, which cost roughly $19 million each, can provide close-air support for troops on the ground and target armored vehicles and installations. The Warthog can also serve as airborne forward air control and support combat search and rescue operations.

The A-10 has seen extensive combat experience in the Middle East, but as threats evolve elsewhere, Air Force leadership has been pushing lawmakers to retire this decades-old plane. Although the A-10 is on its way out, however slowly, the military continues to find uses for this aircraft.

The A-10s that flew above the submarine USS Wyoming recently are assigned to Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. The submarine, commissioned in 1996, is armed with torpedoes and Trident ballistic missiles. These boomer submarines serve as a critical component of the US nuclear triad.

It wasn't immediately clear what type of mission last week's drill may have been simulating, but the A-10 Warthog can eliminate surface threats that could potentially threaten a submarine in its vulnerable surfaced position. There are classic threats, as well as newer ones. Small, uncrewed vessels packed with explosives, for instance, have emerged as prominent weapons in both the Ukraine war and the Red Sea conflict.

A-10s can fly at low speeds and altitudes, making them an effective tool against such threats. In fact, the Air Force has teamed up with the Navy for several surface warfare exercises with the Warthogs in the Middle East over the past two years.

It is also not unprecedented to see A-10s escorting an Ohio-class submarine, though it is somewhat unusual. Earlier this year, several Warthogs were photographed escorting the ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska in the Pacific Northwest alongside US Coast Guard vessels.