Watch Air Force A-10s practice takeoffs and landings on a highway in Estonia

US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ryan Conroy

A US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt with the Maryland Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Squadron takes off on Jägala-Käravete Highway, August 10, 2017, in Jägala, Estonia.

A-10 Thunderbolts from the Maryland Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Squadron are in Estonia this month as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

During an exercise on August 10, A-10s took off from Amari Air Base but, rather than return to the tarmac there, they practiced landing and taking off from a section of highway in northern Estonia.

The A-10 is well-suited for such takeoffs and landings, as its wide tires and high ground clearance make it less susceptible to damage from obstacles or objects on the ground.

In the footage below, published by Berlin-based media outlet Ruptly TV, which is part of the same media network as RT, you can see Thunderbolts performing their drills on what is known as Piibe highway.

Members of the Estonian Defense Forces set up a temporary danger zone around the area, and 8 US special-tactics combat controllers from the 321st Special Tactics Squadron were on hand to survey the two-lane highway, manage the airspace, and perform command and control on the ground and in the air in order to land A-10s, according to the Air Force.

This is not the first occasion on which A-10s have trained on an Estonian roadway.

US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ryan Conroy

Combat controllers guide an A-10 from Maryland Air National Guard to land at Jägala-Käravete Highway, August 10, 2017, in Jägala, Estonia.

In June 2016, four Thunderbolts from the 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard, taking part in the US Army-led exercise called Saber Strike, landed on a highway in the Baltic country.

The 2016 version of the drill was the first time it had been done since 1984.

After World War II and during the Cold War, highways were considered an option for fixed-wing aircraft, as the locations of primary runways were well-known and they likely to be targeted in the event of war.

Sections of the German Autobahn have long been designated for such use; some parts of that highway network where NATO planners built roadways specifically to handle NATO planes. In 2015, fighter jets from Finland and Sweden practiced landing and taking off from a highway in Finland.

Below, you can see more photos of the A-10s in action in Estonia.