During recent hearings in the House Armed Services Committee, United States Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall stated that Ukraine, despite previous interest, purportedly is not currently interested in the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft.
Kendall said he wasn’t aware of any "active interest."
Read more: Ukraine Needs More Attack Aircraft Like American A-10s and Attack Helicopters
"Ukraine hasn't expressed much interest. I think they, rightfully, are concerned about their survivability," he added.
At the same time, there have been no official comments from Ukraine regarding this issue in the context of Kendall's statement.
Let's remind that earlier this year, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk stated that while the F-16 fighter is a priority, the deployment of American A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft and the Mirage-2000D fighters in Ukraine are also being considered.
Kendall also noted that "at least one country has expressed some interest" in these aircraft, although who exactly that is remains unknown at the moment, according to Defense One.
"But the problem is once that aircraft goes out of the U.S. inventory, there won't be any base support for it. So any country that picks it up and tries to sustain it would have a very hard time. It's also a very old aircraft, about 45 years old. Replacement parts are very hard to find," he said.
But Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, says the plane could be effective if Ukraine had the right complement of systems and capabilities, like F-16s, to accompany it.
"This idea that they wouldn't be effective on the battlefield in Ukraine, I don't subscribe to because this plane was literally designed to destroy Soviet armor and russian armor. Yes, it's a bit dated, but so are the ATACMS, so are the HIMARS," Coffey said.
The information regarding Ukraine's acceptance or rejection of the A-10 attack aircraft warrants careful consideration, given the frequent discussion of this topic by various Western officials and media outlets. It should be remembered that an important role in this matter should be played by the decisions and vision of the Ukrainian Air Force in the development of aviation, taking into account the needs and challenges of the modern complex battlefield.
Read more: USA to Retire the A-10 Thunderbolt - What is the Prospect for Ukraine
