Ukrainians Want A-10s and F-16s in Their Arsenal, But Will They Actually Get Them?

But if the Ukrainians had their way with 100 percent of what they'd like to have supplied by the west, their Air Force would look very different than it does today. A remarkable modern fighting force with a complement of both old Soviet and modern western aircraft to effectively counteract a menacing Russian Military.

Two American jet aircraft are among the western assets most treasured by the Ukrainians. Between the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Ukrainian Military high command is practically drooling with anticipation. At a glance, it makes sense that a top-of-the-line American jet fighter is the next logical progression in the Lend-Lease-like agreement between Ukraine and the west.

But this isn't the early 1940s. The particulars of modern warfare make pulling the proverbial trigger on a deal to bring A-10s and F-16s to the Ukrainian Force far more complicated than the average civilian understands. This won't stop Ukrainian military personnel from drooling over photos of Warthogs, Fighting Falcons, and other Western jets in their few, far-between, and sleep-deprived dreams.

From some points of view, the F-16 can be seen as a modern American take on the old British Spitfire. Less of a bruising, all-mighty force of a jet like a twin-engine, F-15 Eagle and the Eurofighter, or even the F/A-18 Super Hornet. As a point-defense single-engine jet fighter that's capable of far greater manufacturing numbers than bigger, more complicated jets, the F-16 is in a class of its own.

Approximately 4,500 F-16 airframes were manufactured between the platform's service debut in August 1978 and 2012. At the present day, that number exceeds 4,600 units. Operational squadrons in the Air Forces of Belgium, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, Pakistan, Israel, Greece, Turkey, and even forces close to Ukraine, like Poland and Romania, all use F-16s in their arsenals.

All the while, Ukrainian Air Force pilots continue to slug it out against Russian air and ground targets in Soviet-era Mikoyan MiG-29s, Sukhoi Su-24s, Su-25s, and Su-27s against more modern Russian variants of the same aircraft. That's without mentioning new Russian fighters potentially lurking in the background, like the Mikoyan MiG-35, Sukhoi Su-35, and the Su-57 gen-V stealth fighter.

Against potential adversaries of that caliber, the added low-cost grunt of a modernized F-16 can only be a positive. With the potential to carry air-to-air ordinance of the most sophisticated order, high-end ordinances like AIM-9 Sidewinders, AIM AMRAAMs, and IADF Python 4s and 5s would bode well against such daunting enemies.

If all else fails, a single M61A1 Vulcan cannon with 500-ish rounds of ammunition can finish the job the old-fashioned way. That's without touching on the Fighting Falcon's admirable ground-attack capability. An onslaught of guided and unguided bombs, cluster bombs, cruise missiles, and air-to-ground missiles could give Russian T-72, T-80s, and T-90 tanks and BMP II infantry vehicles all the hell they can handle.

A recent report by Politico detailed how Ukraine may have stopped publicly calling for more NATO support in the dog days of 2022. Even so, the report claims that behind the scenes, calls for more advanced U.S.-like Patriot missile batteries and, indeed, the F-16 itself have continued in earnest.

Some NATO-aligned nations have begun to debate the future of aid to Ukraine. But in truth, there are some instances where logistics deals that offload decades-old NATO/U.S. bombs, rockets, missile platforms, and artillery pieces actually turn out to be more cost-effective than disposing of them or storing them in domestic warehouses.

But make no mistake, and this doesn't mean the F-16 bearing the Ukrainian trident is a done deal. Until Fighting Falcons are reigning shells on MiGs and Sukhoi's like it's the late 1970s, NATO and the U.S. have the discretion not to go through with the deal. An approved $100 million aid package to train Ukrainaian pilots is a drop in the bucket for the U.S.. So it's important to taper expectations. Such is also the case with the second most desired U.S. jet by the Ukrainians.

There's an argument to be made the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, lovingly dubbed the Warthog, never truly served in the role it was built to fill. Though known the world over as the most prolific and arguably the most effective, the Warthog's prime objective in the concept phase was to maul large columns of Soviet tanks without breaking a sweat.

This is why the Warthog's party piece is a 30 mm Gau-8 Avenger autocannon meant to shred through thick tank armor, concrete-reinforced pill boxes, or essentially any ground target not hidden behind a bunker. This descriptor suits the dull mass of the Russian Army appropriately. With such a capable and dependable platform, it's easy to see how the famous roar of the Warthog's gun could send Russian soldiers running for the hills.

Reports from back in August 2022 detailed how Ukraine's fervor for getting used to the A-10s systems made a VR copy of DCS World, useful in bringing Ukrainian pilots up to speed. Training is conducted in a similar fashion to the U.S. Air Force's 355th Training Squadron, which also used VR to train their pilots while the global health crisis kept all but a handful of squadrons grounded.

In spite of this effort, the ball is still very much in the court of the Americans. Even a formal request from Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov for 100 surpluses A-10 airframes is no more a guarantee of success than with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. As much of an emerging superpower as Ukraine may become after the war, they're still very much at the mercy of NATO.

This hot and cold relationship between the U.S. Congress and Ukraine might be the biggest hurdle between U.S. jets winding up in the hands of Ukraine. But let's be real, watching the A-10 fly alongside its counterpart the Su-25 would be a story for the ages.