The A-10 military aircraft have been in service with the US Air Force since 1976 and are rarely used anymore. Nevertheless, there are reasons against deployment in Ukraine.
Washington/Kiev – Since the Russian attack on Ukraine almost two years ago, there has been a lot of discussion about the suitability of the Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt. Ukraine has been demanding the ground attack aircraft alongside other fighter aircraft from the West for a long time because it hopes it will give it better chances against Russia's tanks. But the United States has repeatedly said that the machines, nicknamed “Warthog,” are far less useful than the Ukrainian armed forces had hoped.
Most recently, the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyj, said in an interview with the news agency Reuters last week again demanded a delivery of A-10 aircraft. These are “not a new machine, but a reliable one that has proven itself in many wars and has a wide variety of weapons that can support the infantry in attacking ground targets,” quoted Reuters Syrskyj.
A-10 military aircraft: These are the advantages of the machines from the 70s
The USA had already stationed the A-10 aircraft at various US air bases in Germany during the Cold War. They were deployed in the Gulf War and the Bosnian War in the 1990s. The machines, which travel at around 700 kilometers per hour and are considered to have particularly strong defenses thanks to their titanium shell and can still fly even when severely damaged, were also used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to Syrskyj, Ukraine also hopes that the low-flying aircraft will give it an important advantage in the fight against the superior attacker Russia, because the aircraft are seen as possible strong support for the Ukrainian ground troops. “They are there to destroy targets on the ground: tanks, artillery… anything that poses a threat to the infantry,” quoted Reuters.
USA hesitates to deliver A-10 to Ukraine: inferior to modern systems
That the USA promised a delivery of A-10 aircraft in… Ukraine war is considered to be more cautious is not only due to the current dispute over military support for Ukraine in general. This is what US military expert and journalist Kris Osborn, founder of the “Center for Military Modernization,” reported on his news portal Warrior Maven already last summer that the possible success of the machines against Russia was questionable, as the Russian air defense used superior systems that could easily liquidate the “Warthogs”.
According to US military plans, the “flying tanks”, as the A-10 aircraft are also called, will only remain in service with the US Air Force for a few more years. Even before the war, US President Joe Biden Reuters-According to reports, an initiative has been launched to retire the machines, some of which are around 40 years old. However, there are still dozens of battle-tested machines at many bases today.
Ukrainian military experts like Syrskyj expect their delivery to Ukraine to give them a decisive advantage, despite their presumed inferiority to Russian defense systems: He told Reuters that it was “impossible” for Russia to create robust defense systems at all points on the front. The resulting vulnerabilities need to be exploited by Ukraine – and the “Warthogs” could also be an important help for the defense troops. (saka)
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