The Pentagon wants to get rid of a fleet of outdated attack aircraft from the Cold War, allocating them to Ukraine
Kyiv lobbyists in the Pentagon are discussing a proposal to transfer a fleet of A-10 attack aircraft to Ukraine.
This is stated in the publication of the New York Times.
It is noted that this idea “makes a lot of sense from the point of view of both the needs of Ukraine and the interests of the development of the American Air Force.”
The A-10 attack aircraft were developed during the Cold War specifically to destroy ground targets and, above all, to fight Soviet tanks.
At the same time, the Pentagon has been trying for several years to get rid of these aircraft in order to free up funds for the purchase and maintenance of more multi-role aircraft, which are more consistent with the ideas of American strategists about future military conflicts in which the United States may participate.
But the American military has so far failed to get Congress to sanction this; lawmakers persisted in allocating money to support and modernize the A-10 fleet.
US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, in several statements this week, allowed for the possibility of transferring the A-10 to Ukraine.
The Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, General Charles Brown, did not directly talk about the A-10 at the Security Forum in Aspen, but admitted the possibility of transferring combat aircraft to Ukraine, and most likely not Russian ones.
The possibility of transferring F-16 fighters to Ukraine is also being discussed, but not everyone in Kyiv is convinced of the usefulness of this machine for the needs of the current war against Russia.
Until now, the Biden administration has resisted transferring aircraft to Ukraine - even from other NATO countries - believing that the move would be seen in Moscow as an escalation of US involvement in the war.
English version :: Read in English The Pentagon wants to get rid of a fleet of outdated attack aircraft from the Cold War, allocating them to Ukraine