The Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is the close air support (CAS) 'greatest of all time'. The design of this simple, yet reliable, rugged, and awesomely effective CAS platform is superb.
However it's too low-tech for the military industrial complex, where making money is the name of the game, not national security, enabled by compliant bureaucrats and legislators.
The U.S. Air Force has been trying to get rid of the aircraft for decades, because it's too effective, siphoning money from pet high-dollar projects which make the military industrial complex very rich.
What better way to get rid of this threat to profits than to end the problem forever and get them shot down in Ukraine, where there is no viable air defense network to protect them.
In this vein, the Ukrainian general thought to possibly take General Zaluzhniy's place after the current soft civil war between the Zelenskiy administration and military is ended, and the forever war on the Russian border can continue, said the quiet part out loud recently.
“This is what can really help inflict a military defeat on Russia,” General Kyrylo Budanov said.
Kyiv needs more military aircraft like the American A-10 Warthogs and long-range cruise missile-carrying aircraft, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander of Ukrainian Ground Forces, said on Jan. 12.
How dare Ukrainian generals ask for the GOAT, when at the very least the fleet should be sitting protected in the boneyard in case WWIII breaks out? (hint - it will soon)
Just ask a U.S. Army Ranger if he would feel better with an A-10 loitering overhead, or a fly by of an F-35.
Then you'll understand how important the A-10 is, and the venerable aircraft should not be wasted in the Ukrainian meat grinder.
Our nation is being invaded. That should be our priority, not supporting the corruption industrial complex in Kyiv.
THAT is the reason the A-10 was literally on its way to the Boneyard in the early 90's....it wouldn't last 15 minutes in the Fulda Gap with ZSU-23-4 and SA-7 Strellas on/in every vehicle. YES, it's the GOAT - but only IF we have complete air-superiority AND the badguys do not have the weapons to knock it down easily. I'm not sure WHAT the Rooskies have in Ukraine....but I suspect they would get them quickly IF the HAWG showed up....JMO.