Hal Sundt wrote Warplane, the story of the A-10. I asked him how a small group of military reformers got this aircraft designed, tested and into the fight.
The A-X program
Hal explains the fight between the Army and the Air Force over close air support, and how Pierre Sprey and Colonel Avery Kay started the A-X program. A-1 Skyraider pilots helped define what the aircraft needed to do. Chuck Spinney’s work on F-105 vulnerability fed into it too.
Boyd and Christie
John Boyd and Tom Christie’s energy-maneuverability theory runs through the story, including the YF-16 and YF-17 flyoff. The testing was rigorous and resourceful, from Soviet weapons to improvised wind tunnels.
Legacy
In the Gulf War the A-10 flew far more than close air support. Hal talks about the pressure to retire it in favor of newer jets, and pays tribute to the late Pierre Sprey.
For me, this is a story about designing around the human in the cockpit and the soldier on the ground. Boyd’s ideas shaped hardware long before the OODA loop reached business.
Who are the reformers in your organization, and who protects them?
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