These days, pretty much any warplane can drop guided munitions with pinpoint accuracy, but what makes the A-10 so special is one of the only weapons used by the US Air Force that isn't precision-guided: the 30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger gun with 1,150 incendiary rounds.

In a recent press release, Air Force Col. Sean McCarthy, the 447th Air Expeditionary Group's commander, explained in a US Department of Defense release exactly why the A-10 can do missions no other plane can.

McCarthy, who commands 550 airmen operating out of Turkey's Incirlik Air Base, revealed that deliberate targeting of ISIS assets in Syria accounts for only about 10% of airstrikes carried out from the base.