A Ukrainian official said Tuesday that Kyiv doesn’t want American A-10 Warthog planes after a US Air Force official suggested the US might send older aircraft to Ukraine.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall was asked last week if the US could send Ukraine A-10s, which the Air Force is phasing out. “That’s largely up to Ukraine,” he said in response. “Older US systems are a possibility. … We will be open to discussions with them about what their requirements are and how we might be able to satisfy them.”
Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine’s defense minister, told Military.com that A-10s “will not close our sky, they will not stop bombers and missiles.” He said the A-10 “will be a target for Russian jet fighters and anti-aircraft defense, because we don’t have the means neither to effectively cover them, nor to break through the enemy anti-aircraft defense.”
Ukraine has been asking the US for F-15s and F-16s, which would require extensive training for Ukrainian pilots who currently use Soviet-era MiG 29s. Sak claimed that Ukrainian pilots could learn how to fly the fighter jets in two to three weeks, but it’s estimated it would take at least three months for them to learn the basics.
So far, the US has not provided Ukraine with warplanes, and the step would be a major escalation in Washington’s role in the war. US and Ukrainian officials are currently in talks on what kind of aircraft Washington can send, and US military officials like Kendall seem open to Kyiv’s suggestions.
Sak reiterated that Ukraine is hoping to get F-16s. “For sustainability … almost every regional partner of Ukraine is flying F-16s,” he said. “Think about the assistance Ukraine receives on MiG-29 parts. Now, replace the MiG-29 with the F-16. … It’s an easy decision.”
The House version of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes an amendment that would authorize $100 million to train Ukrainian pilots to use American aircraft.
Ukraine will cease to exist as a country before they can acquire an aircraft from America.
A10 is actually a pretty tough aircraft in a combat theater. It has a low heat signature and can take battle damage, not to mention it is a T-72’s worst nightmare.
You bet it is. Close support superior. We tossed it away in favor of the F-35, which IS NOT a ground support aircraft. When it flies without killing its pilot.
See my post. A-10’s are useless if you don’t have air superiority and are up against a modern air defense system, especially one which is covering ground forces, which is the case in Ukraine.
Not even heavily indoctrinated ukranian Nazi’s are stupid enough to fly these death traps for uncle Sam. They prefer reliable Russian stuff like SU 25 and Igla before stingers. Not that it’s gonna help their case in any way but still…
A10 IS NOT a death trap.
It is against the Russian Air Force and air defense.
“Give me stuff, for free; but give me GOOD stuff, not old stuff, because even though we are beggars and won’t pay for anything, you have to give us what we want or you are a tool of Putin”. Nice bargaining position; if Biden were any tiny bit of a man, instead of a demented husk he’d tell Zelensky to go pound salt.
“Nice bargaining position; if Biden were any tiny bit of a man, instead of a demented husk he’d tell Zelensky to go pound salt.”
Not defending the demented husk(accurate), but imagine the uproar from team “R” and team “D”. Neville Chamberlain’s name would be trending.
Shows how stupid they are. The Warthogs were and are among the best ground support aircraft ever made.
Useless in this war. Russians would drop them by the dozens. They’re slow and only useful when the US has air superiority.
The A-10 would be worthless against Russian air defense and fighters.
So would the F-16. So would the F-35.
I saw plenty of “Russian Air Defense” (ZSUs) after the A-10s came through Kuwait. Oddly, none of them had any crews remaining in them, and most of them weren’t functional anymore.
“Put a beggar on horseback, and he’ll ride every time.” Shakespeare