Article Summary: The A-10 Warthog, famous for its tank-busting firepower, won’t be heading to Ukraine anytime soon. Despite its proven success in past conflicts, Ukraine has not expressed interest in the aircraft, citing concerns over survivability against advanced Russian air defenses.
Key Point #1 – Unlike past wars where the A-10 thrived, Ukraine lacks air superiority, making the slow-moving Warthog a vulnerable target. Additionally, logistics challenges and dwindling support for the aging aircraft further complicate potential transfers.
Key Point #2 – While the A-10 remains a beloved ground-attack platform, its role in Ukraine’s high-threat battlefield is limited, leading both the U.S. and Ukraine to focus on F-16s instead.
Why Hasn’t the US Sent A-10 Warthogs To Ukraine?
The A-10 Warthog is one of the world’s most beloved and misunderstood aircraft. People were fascinated by the absolute firepower of the “flying tank,” with a titanium hull, as the Hog is so affectionately called.
We watched spellbound as Hogs laid waste to exposed targets with that trademark ‘BRRRRRRRT’ sound of the 30mm gun. It was used in Iraq and Afghanistan heavily for ground support against the Taliban.
In Syria back in 2017, the A-10, along with other aircraft, supported a small Special Forces base that had come under attack by Russian Wagner Group “mercenaries” and Syrian troops that attacked with armor and armored vehicles. It was a slaughter that the Wagner troops won’t soon forget.
The Air Force has wanted to retire the Hog for years but has received pushback from Congress. Now, the Air Force is getting its way, and the A-10s will soon be a part of history. But people want to know why the US doesn’t send the A-10 to Ukraine.
Ukraine Doesn’t Want The A-10
Well, that should pop the balloon right there. If they don’t want them, the point is moot, right? Not entirely; however, this is where the misunderstood part comes in. We’ll re-examine this in a moment, but first, why doesn’t Ukraine want them? And it isn’t because “Pro-Russia, Republican extremists” won’t let them have any.
During a House Armed Services Committee hearing last April, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said, “Ukraine hasn’t expressed much interest. I think they, rightfully, are concerned about their survivability.” He added that he wasn’t aware of “any active interest.”
This is because the area on both sides of the front is peppered with surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). The Ukrainians have lost many aircraft and helicopters to SAMs. They have the old Soviet Su-25 “Frogfoot,” which was the Soviet answer to the A-10 in the Cold War. It is much less capable than the A-10 but has the same mission. The Su-25s have been hit hard. The Russians still have Frogfoots. I haven’t heard if they are using them, and it’s probably for the same reason.
Can The A-10 Thrive on the Battlefield In Ukraine?
Is everything going the way of Ukraine? Yes. The A-10s were so successful because the US had battlefield dominance over the skies of Afghanistan. People misunderstand this. Neither side has air dominance. Neither Air Force controls the skies over Ukraine.
That is not ideal for a slow, vulnerable plane like an A-10. If the Ukrainians had A-10s in the first days of the war, with long columns of Russian armor bottled up and stuck on main roads, it would have been a slaughter. But that was before the Russians beefed up their air defenses.
Some argue that the A-10s could survive with fast escorts. Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, says the plane could be effective if Ukraine had the right complement of systems and capabilities, such as F-16s, to accompany it.
“This idea that they wouldn’t be effective on the battlefield in Ukraine, I don’t subscribe to because this plane was literally designed to destroy Soviet armor and Russian armor. Yes, it’s a bit dated, but so are the ATACMS, so are the HIMARS,” Coffey said.
The A-10 was designed to combat Soviet or Russian armor if it poured through the Fulda gap during the Cold War. Its airframe was built around the legendary GAU-8/A Avenger 30mm cannon, which can shoot 3,900 depleted Uranium slugs per minute. But air defenses have improved over the last 45 years, and with air supremacy the Hogs would suffer.
A-10 Warthog Specs
General Characteristics
Primary Function: A-10 — close air support, airborne forward air control, combat search and rescue
Contractor: Fairchild Republic Co.
Power Plant: Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans
Thrust: 9,065 pounds for each engine
Length: 53 feet, 4 inches (16.16 meters)
Height: 14 feet, 8 inches (4.42 meters)
Wingspan: 57 feet, 6 inches (17.42 meters)
Speed: 420 miles per hour (Mach 0.56)
Ceiling: 45,000 feet (13,636 meters)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 51,000 pounds (22,950 kilograms)
Range: 800 miles (695 nautical miles)
Armament: One 30mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun; up to 16,000 pounds (7,200 kilograms) of mixed ordnance on eight under-wing and three under-fuselage pylon stations, including 500 pound (225 kilograms) Mk-82 and 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) Mk-84 series low/high drag bombs, incendiary cluster bombs, combined effects munitions, mine dispensing
munitions, AGM-65 Maverick missiles, laser-/GPS-guided bombs, unguided and laser-guided 2.75-inch (6.99 centimeters) rockets; infrared countermeasure flares; electronic countermeasure chaff; jammer pods; illumination flares and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
Crew: One
Date Deployed: March 1976
Unit Cost: $9.8 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)
Inventory: Total Force – approximately 281
Logistics Will Make This Untenable
As we all know, logistics drive the train. As much as we all want to discount the boring part of warfighting, it is crucial. Let’s face it: they don’t make war movies about a logistics guy (except for The Red Ball Express). However, in this case, it is a deal-breaker.
Once the Warthog leaves the US inventory, all support for it will dry up.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Lindsay “MAD” Johnson, A-10C Thunderbolt II Demonstration Team commander and pilot, signals to the audience from her A-10 aircraft during a Hawgsmoke 2024 practice demonstration at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, Sept. 12, 2024. The A-10’s ability to fly low and slow over the battlefield was one of the many attributes that made it an effective close air support airframe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Devlin Bishop)
“The problem is once that aircraft goes out of the US inventory, there won’t be any base support for it. So, any country that picks it up and tries to sustain it would have a very hard time. It’s also a very old aircraft, about 45 years old. Replacement parts are very hard [to find],” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall warned.
Look, everyone who ever put boots on the ground loves an A-10 and feels a modicum of safety just to see them flying overhead. But the war in Ukraine is different. The Hogs are and always will be a great aircraft, but this isn’t their war.
A-10 Warthog.
Now, if the Air Force wants to keep some flying down around the southern border for work against the cartels? That is a different story for another time.
About the Author:
Steve Balestrieri is a 19FortyFive National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing for 19FortyFive, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
