The A-10 Thunderbolt II is now constantly under daily attack by its own Air Force trying to cut its budget and buy a few more Joint Strike Fighters. But, to those on the ground, the Warthog is an indispensable piece of flying artillery.

Politics aside, John Q. Public has posted up an excellent short documentary on the Warthog, the men who fly it, and the men who rely upon it. Its a slow watch, but plenty of footage of the GAU going off makes it worth the watch by itself.

My take? Outside an AH-1 when I was in the Corps, this was the favorite piece of hardware to have overhead.

Title photo is a first-person view from the cockpit when spewing depleted uranium rounds from the GAU-8 gatling.