Originally Posted by
B Fraser
Russian tank crews refer to the A-10 as "the cross of death". I understand that the Air National Guard have a few and to paraphrase BoJo, there's little point in them defending Arkansas. Perhaps they are the ideal platform ? I see one issue with whatever is sent in that western aircraft are easily identifiable as such. The chap with a MANPAD will waste no time in deciding whether to shoot.
I've been thinking the same thing. The USAF has wanted to get rid of the A-10 for decades, what better way than let Ukraine have some. A-10 survivability in the Gulf was pretty good - and that was against some fairly sophisticated Russian based air defense systems - and proved themselves perfectly capable of turning Russian built armored vehicles into scrap metal.
Transition training would also be fairly quick and easy for existing pilots.