I just recently discovered that Rutan Aircraft Factory (Burt Rutan's pre-Scaled Composites company) designed, built, and flew a ground attack aircraft similar in mission to the USAF's A-10 Warthog, the ARES (Agile Responsive Effective Support). First designed in 1981 as a turboprop in response to an Army request for a low cost battlefield attack aircraft, the ARES was built in 1986 as a turbojet. Similar to the A-10, the ARES is literally built around a gatling gun, in this case the GAU-12/U 25mm gun. Check out the size of the gun port on the fore starboard side of the plane:

Despite meeting all requirements, the plane never found a purchaser and remains a prototype. Find much more information about it at the Scaled Composites website.

Posted by: JohnL at 09:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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