This is Why the US Won’t Be Sending the A-10 Warthog to Ukraine

On paper, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II was built for exactly the type of warfare happening right now in Eastern Ukraine — that is, killing Russian armor on the open plains of Eastern Europe.

A mighty A-10 Thunderbolt II from Idaho’s 190th Fighter Squadron soars high in the blue sky above the Orchard Combat Training Center on Aug. 19 where the Idaho National Guard regularly conducts their training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Becky Vanshur) Public domain

So, why is it unlikely for the A-10 to show up in the Ukraine War?

Let’s discuss.

The A-10 has been many things: A Russian tank buster in Iraq Wars I and II, the savior of the infantry in Afghanistan, a political football in Congress, and my favorite GI Joe toy in the 1980s.

The Hasbro GI Joe, Cobra Rattler toy c. 1984 — modeled after the American A-10 Warthog.

I think there’s a story that needs to be written about why the ’80s action figure “bad guys” always had cooler-looking equipment. Perhaps so that kids would want to play with them, instead of playing the heroes all the time? Seriously, ThunderCats, He-Man, GI Joe, and Transformers — all had cooler-looking bad guys than good guys.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, or simply “Hog”, is one of the most famous ground-attack aircraft in the world. The jet is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft operated by the United States Air Force.