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

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

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

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

What is an A-10 Warthog?

Affectionately called A-10 Warthog, 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 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. " 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.

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

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

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

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

(Image: AP)