KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Four A-10 Warthogs from Whiteman Air Force Base will help get Chiefs Kingdom pumped up Sunday.
The Kansas City Chiefs are set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals at 2:05 p.m. in the AFC Championship Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs are hosting the game with a Super Bowl berth on the line for an NFL-record fourth consecutive season. It will also be the fourth straight year the A-10s will perform the pregame flyover as the national anthem concludes.
The A-10 flyover is set for shortly before 2 p.m.
“It is always an honor and privilege to be asked to fly over Arrowhead Stadium,” Col. Steve Nester, the commander of the 442d Fighter Wing, said Thursday in a statement. “The relationship between the 442d Fighter Wing and the Kansas City Chiefs dates back to when we were flying A-10s out of Richards-Gebaur Airfield."
U.S. Air Force Reserve pilots Lt. Col. Preston “Moses” McConnell, Lt. Col. Paul “Harb” Brown, Maj. Nathan “Ponch” Bevis and Capt. Garrett “Rusty” Ruwaldt will be at the controls.
The unit is operated by the 442d Fighter Wing from Whiteman Air Force Base, which is located near Knob Noster, Missouri. The base is roughly 65 miles southeast of Arrowhead Stadium.
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, also know as the "Warthog," was introduced in October 1977 and has a top speed of 420 mph. It is a close air support attack aircraft.
