It was literally designed around its distinctive 30mm gatling gun. The gun is more than 19 feet long and weighs more than 4,000 pounds.

The distinctive sound made by the weapon (aka the BRRRRRRRRRT – created as rounds fire faster than the speed of sound), is music to the ears of the troops on the ground, so much so, the plane sometimes called "the grunt in the air." A-10 pilots often find themselves providing support at Danger Close distances.

"They love this airplane," says one Air Force A-10 pilot, referring to units on the ground. "They trust us. For them to trust to do that is very gratifying."

Recently, the John Q. Public blog, run by retired Air Force officer Tony Carr, came across a video he suspects was produced by the Air Force's Combat Camera units, lauding the A-10, its crews, its pilots, and the capabilities of its support for ground troops.