A remedy against “shaheeds”: what Zelensky should talk about with Trump

The last A-10A attack aircraft are currently being decommissioned in the US. The aircraft are being transferred to storage bases. About 600 of them will be stored there in almost perfect condition. This aircraft is extremely interesting for us today. And if Volodymyr Zelensky had any brains, he would discuss buying some of them at a meeting with Trump. Especially since they could be obtained quite inexpensively. And there are no problems with spare parts.

Why do we need them? Because the A-10A Thunderbolt II could be a good tool against jet fighters. Quite effective and cheaper to use than the F-16.

The maximum speed of the A-10A Thunderbolt II attack aircraft is 722 km/h near the ground, and the maximum permissible speed is 834 km/h. Shahed-136 jet attack drones (jet versions such as Shahed-238/”Geran”) develop a cruising speed in the range from 400 to 500–530 km/h. So no jet “Shahed” will escape. And the built-in 30-mm seven-barrel GAU-8/A Avenger cannon (Gatling system) is quite effective for destroying such targets. It has a rate of fire of up to 4200 rounds per minute and an ammunition of approximately 1174–1350 rounds. In general, the cannon uses armor-piercing and high-explosive shells to destroy armored vehicles. And don’t forget about the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. And besides, the killing will not take place over cities.

But the plane still needs to be equipped with a small radar or thermal imager, since it is a pure attack aircraft with very powerful weapons. And the issue of pilots is also being resolved. The US has enough pilots who can fly the A-10 and who are currently not in service. And hiring them is much cheaper than rebuilding everything that the Rashists are destroying with their jet “shaheeds”. At the same time, you can train your own pilots, but all these are secondary issues. The main thing is to get these planes. This is a task for Zelensky.

I will say right away that the A-10A Thunderbolt II is not a panacea, but can become part of a general system for countering various types of “shaheeds”. That is why I propose this solution. Will they hear? 100%. Will they do it? Let’s see. This is an opportunity. Will they not want to use it? This is Zelensky’s choice as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. I only proposed it.

By the way, I publicly drew attention to Thunderbolt and spoke about their possible use back in January 2024. Then the OP ignored it, despite the fact that the General Staff supported this idea. If they had heard it then, the damage from the jet “Shaheeds” would have been much less now. But they didn’t. I wonder what the reaction will be now? Because it’s not me personally who needs it, but Ukraine.