US likely to send Cold War-era A-10 Warthog air support jets to Ukraine; Know all about it

After much deliberation, the US on Wednesday hinted that it has not ruled out the idea of transferring A-10 Warthog ground attack jets to Kyiv as Russia intensified attacks in Ukraine spreading war arms beyond Donbass. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, US Air Force chief Frank Kendall informed that Washington "will be open" to discuss depending on whether Ukraine requires them in near future.

"We will be open to discussions with them on what their requirements are and how we might be able to satisfy them," said the Secretary of US Air Force, Frank Kendall, as quoted by Sky News.

The top official of the American Air Force also noted that the 'A-10 Warthog' close air support planes are among those warcraft that the US is planning to discard from its stock to invest more in technologically developed programmes, moving away from the Soviet era combat jets. "The venerable A-10 ... Is not something that we are going to need against the kind of advert service we are concerned about most now,"  Kendall stated for the US the next set of warplanes will be "more non-Russian."

What is an A-10 Warthog?

Affectionately called the A-10 Warthog, the low-altitude air support plane is actually named A-10 Thunderbolt II. It is best known for its GAU-8 AVENGER 30 mm Gatling gun mounted on the nose. It is designed to fire armour-piercing high explosive incendiary rounds, according to Military.com. It has "excellent" maneuverability at low altitudes and air speeds. "The aircraft can loiter near battle areas for extended periods of time and operate in low ceiling and visibility conditions," Military.com describes. With night-vision goggles, A-10 pilots can conduct crucial missions even at night.

The first A-10A was launched in 1975 and delivered to Davis-Mobthan Air Force Base in Arizona. In 2007, it was upgraded to A-10C, which supported large and varied ordnance loads. The spectacular serviceability has proven invaluable in missions like Desert Storm, Noble Anvil, Iraqi Freedom, Southern Watch, Desert Fox, and more.

Russian war 'not on brink of nuclear conflict': Kendall

Responding to a question about the analysis of the Russian war, Kendall said he doesn't believe the situation is worst compared to the 1962 Cuban Missile conflict. He asserted, "We are not on the brink of a potential nuclear conflict," as per the Sky News report.

It is pertinent to note, that at least 21 Warthogs are expected to retire, as mandated in the 2023 US Fiscal Budget. While the aircraft proved highly usable in the last two decades, it is only considered in low combat operative regions. This has increased questions about its reliability in the potential high-end airspace conflicts, which include long-range missile systems and cluster artillery attacks.

(Image: AP)