"Strafe"

Maybe an uncreative name, but it gets the job done!

We all know the A-10,

or "Brrrrrrt" if you will. But much less popular is the Warthog's competition counterpart, the Northrop YA-9! It may look familiar, bearing a similar appearance to the later but much more recognized Russian Su-25 Frogfoot. However, the YA-10 would prove its superiority in the trials, and the YA-9 wouldn't be produced in mass numbers. Although, to my knowledge at least, both prototypes that were made survive, with one awaiting restoration at Edwards AFB, and the other on display in March Field Museum.

But while the YA-9 wouldn't see combat in real life, SimplePlanes does not bend to the will of reality! So here we have a YA-9 that can be flown in SimplePlanes. Armed with a 30mm cannon (similar to the A-10, but the actual YA-9 only had a 20mm) and 10 hardpoints for ammunition, the YA-9 will surely be an interesting attacker to fly around the game! Not gonna lie, I'm very curious what y'all are gonna carry with this guy.

Oh also, I forgot to mention, the YA-9 wasn't actually called Strafe. I named it that because the YA-9 didn't actually have an official name in real life, similar to the XF-90, F-1, and F-19 (more on that F-19 later).

PEA Lore:

In the PEAverse, the YA-9 actually still lost the competition to the A-10, and wouldn't go into production. So, exactly how did the YA-9 end up flying? Well, here's the neat thing: they didn't. The two survivors have been lying around, waiting for nearly 50 years. But things changed in 2025, with the start of The Scourge War.

By now, many considered even the A-10 outdated, and it was considered superior to the YA-9. Yet the PEA-Nation did not concern themselves with this. The YA-9s were sought out and refurbished into fighting condition, and have returned to the sky in hopes of defending the world from The SCOURGE... and maybe getting their own vindication in the process.