Attack aircraft

A ground attack aircraft is an aircraft that is designed to operate very close to the ground, supporting infantry and tanks directly in battle. They are used essentially as mobile machine guns and anti-tank guns against single targets, as opposed to bombers which typically attack more "strategic" targets. This classification goes by a number of names, including attack, tactical fighter and even includes the dive bomber.

Very few aircraft have been dedicated to the ground attack role, most that are used in this role are actually fighters or light bombers. Most of the dedicated designs came from early World War II when the available power from aircraft engines was so limited that every plane had to be dedicated to a single task. The most successful ground attack aircraft would generally be credited to the Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik, which was credited by Stalin for winning the war. The Luftwaffe fielded a very similar plane, the Henschel Hs 129, but produced very few of them and they had no effect on the war effort.

By the end of the war the average day fighter had more than enough capability, and some of the most successful designs was a slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and unmodified Hawker Typhoons.

In the post-war era, very few aircraft have been dedicated to ground attack. In the late 1960s the US Air Force designed the Republic A-10 Thunderbolt in order to have a rapid and long-ranged way to kill Soviet tanks. However this role is generally filled by the US Armys helicopters. The Soviets built the seemingly similar Su-25, but this plane is used more as flying artillery than in the dedicated anti-tank role.