Oleksii Reznikov, the defense minister for Ukraine, sought 100 of the US's A-10 Warthog ground attack aircraft a few weeks after the Russian invasion in February, according to a report by The Washington Post.
However, the US had to reject this request in order to prevent increasing hostilities between Moscow and Washington.
(Photo : APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images)
Five aircraft representing the US Air Forces 75 years as a service, fly over SoFi Stadium at the end of the national anthem and kickoff of Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on February 13, 2022.
US Military Support
The US and its NATO partners have been supporting the Ukrainian defense in the ten-month-old conflict in Ukraine.
US government-approved military aid packages come equipped with the most sophisticated air defense system and drones, and other weapons. The US has not, however, sent fighter jets into battle.
But the report implies that Ukraine performed its research before submitting the request. Aleksii Reznikov, the defense minister of Ukraine, claimed he based his estimation of the US Air Force's availability of 100 aircraft on information that was readily available to the public.
He noted that planes might be transferred to support the Ukrainian military operation, enabling Kyiv to thwart a Russian onslaught, using a 40-mile (64-km) column of tanks and heavily armored vehicles.
The first aircraft created for close air support of ground forces was the A-10 Thunderbolt II, which was produced by Fairchild Republic Company, a division of Northrop Grumman.
The aircraft may be outfitted with a broad variety of air-to-surface missiles, including precision-guided and unguided munitions, and includes a 30mm GAU-8/A Gatling gun that can fire 3,900 rounds per minute, as per Interesting Engineering.
The A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, also known as the Warthog, is equipped with Night Vision Imaging Devices (NVIS), helmet-mounted cueing systems, and a big bubble canopy cockpit that gives the pilots a wide field of view.
The aircraft is more resistant to damage from projectiles, has self-healing fuel cells, and has a manual systems backup in case of hydraulic flight control fails. This makes it more resilient than any previous aircraft that has been used in combat.
Under its wing and fuselage pylons, the single-pilot aircraft is capable of transporting up to 16,000 pounds (7,200 kg) of combined ordnance, which includes missiles, rockets, and bombs.
Why the US Rejected Ukraine's Request
Reznikov told the Washington Post that the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin flatly refused the Ukrainian request since, in the absence of the required assistance, the A-10s would have become easy prey for Russian air defense systems.
As part of its aid to Ukraine, the US has abstained from supplying aircraft because it thinks they could be used to do deep strikes within Russia, escalating tensions with Moscow.
However, the US has taken the lead to equip Ukrainian jets with AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), with plans to add more similar strike options.
President Joe Biden also revealed last week that it will send the Patriot missile battery system to Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's White House visit.
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