If anyone noticed, I accidently deleated this post twice shortly after posting. Sorry. Oops. Im going to bed to get some sleep.
The most prominent feature of the A-10 Thunderbolt II is the 30-millimeter GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling-gun cannon. Designed before the aircraft that carries it, this weapon is capable of firing 3,900 rounds a minute and can defeat an array of ground targets to include tanks. The A-10 was designed around the gun and not vice versa, the opposite of most aircraft weapons systems. The A-10 entered service in 1977 and the incredibly powerful gun represents 16 percent of the aircraft's weight.