http://www.armedforces-int.com/news/unmanned-a-10-close-air-support-programme.html "Although now 40 years old, the USAF's A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack and close air support platform may be about to gain a new lease of life. Plans have been unveiled that would see this potent combat aircraft relaunched as a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle through the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA's) Persistent Close Air Support programme. Spearheaded by Aurora Flight Sciences, the PCAS programme will integrate into the UAV concept the capabilities that have kept the A-10 at the peak of ground attack operations over the past four decades. Unmanned A-10 "Aurora's selection by Raytheon to develop critical air vehicle technologies for the DARPA PCAS program is a major step in our relationship, which began with the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle and Loiter Attack Missile programs in the 1990s", Aurora Flight Sciences' CEO and President, John Langford, explained in a company statement on the unmanned A-10 programme. "We are looking forward to working closely with Raytheon on a wide range of unmanned systems technologies in the future." Aurora's role in the PCAS unmanned A-10 programme will involve developing technologies that can significantly lower the timescale involved in close air support missions through better tying-up the elements involved, including weapons systems, airborne sensors and controllers on the ground. A-10 Close Air Support Programme Besides Aurora, other firms involved in the unmanned A-10 close air support programme include GE Aviation and Rockwell Collins. Developed by Fairchild-Republic, the A-10 first flew in 1972 and differs from other designs of the period in drawing on turbofans, rather than afterburning jet engines. These turbofans, mounted on the rear fuselage just ahead of the tail surfaces, give the A-10 a unique and instantly recognisable appearance, while its main armament is the General Electric GAU-8/A Avenger seven-barrel cannon, which has a rate of fire of 3,900 rounds per minute. USAF A-10s made their combat debut in the 1991 Gulf War, going on to participate in the Kosovo Conflict and, more recently, Operation Iraqi Freedom."