Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II variant
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II OA-10A
A mission designation, not a separate airframe: A-10A (and, after modernization, A-10C) aircraft used as an airborne forward air control (FAC-A) platform, physically identical to the standard attack A-10A/A-10C — only the crew's assigned role changes.
Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II sheet
History
The OA-10A role covers airborne observation and target-marking and the coordination of other strike aircraft's close air support, a mission the Air Force assigned to dedicated squadrons such as the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron (1987-1991), explicitly listed as an OA-10 unit. Because it is not a structural variant, aircraft flying the OA-10A mission went through the same Precision Engagement modernization as the rest of the A-10A/OA-10A fleet: from 2005 to June 2011 a combined total of 356 A-10 and OA-10 airframes were upgraded to the A-10C standard, so the OA-10A designation today coexists with A-10C avionics and equipment while remaining, in essence, the same airframe flying a different mission.