US A-10 Warthog Displays Drone Kill Marks Signaling Shift in Counter-UAS Operations
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An A-10C returning to Portsmouth from a CENTCOM deployment was photographed with two Shahed-type drone silhouettes and Ares nose art, suggesting air-to-air counter-UAS engagements despite no formal Air Force statement. The markings point to a practical move toward shooting down low-cost drones with cheaper weapons, not million-dollar interceptors.
On 11 October, 2025, fresh images of an A-10C Thunderbolt II returning to Portsmouth from Lajes under the callsign TABOR61 show two Shahed-type drone silhouettes painted on the nose alongside the figure of Ares. The jet had just completed roughly six months in the U.S. CENTCOM area as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a theater where one-way-attack drones have become a persistent threat. As published by @mhtplanes at X, a New England-based aviation photographer, the photos indicate the aircraft has been used against hostile UAS despite the absence of an official U.S. Air Force statement. The development matters because it points to a quiet broadening of mission sets and to a practical answer to the economic puzzle of defeating low-cost drones without expending high-end interceptors.
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The appearance of Shahed-type silhouettes on an A-10 coming home from Operation Inherent Resolve is more than nose art; it is evidence that the alliance is converging on practical, scalable counters to mass-produced drones (Picture source: @mhtplanes at X)
The Warthog is well suited to downing slow, fragile Shahed-type drones thanks to endurance, sensor stability, and magazine depth. Equipped with a targeting pod and the ability to employ APKWS II in an air-to-air role, the A-10 can cue laser-guided 70 mm rockets with proximity effects against small aerial targets while maintaining long on-station windows. This combination allows multiple engagements in a single sortie, fills gaps between point defenses and higher-tier fighters, and keeps the engagement geometry simple by operating at altitudes and speeds that match the problem set rather than overmatching it.
Historically, the A-10 earned its reputation providing overwatch, convoy escort, and close air support over Iraq and Syria, where persistence and rapid retasking were decisive. Over time the platform’s integration of precision weapons, improved pods, and updated datalinks has expanded its mission flexibility. The low-visibility nature of the recent deployment, with few official images and minimal commentary, fits the pattern of a type that adapts quietly to emergent threats. The newly applied Shahed-style silhouettes, added to existing markings, function as a visible record of that adaptation.
Against comparable solutions, the A-10’s counter-UAS approach emphasizes cost and persistence. Fighters like the F-16 or F-35 can intercept drones with infrared or radar-guided missiles, but doing so is expensive and competes with other priority tasks. Ground-based short-range air defenses and naval guns offer economical answers but are tied to fixed positions or specific corridors. An A-10 carrying APKWS II offers a mobile, reusable layer that preserves premium missile inventories and reduces the cost per intercept to a level closer to the attacker’s expenditure. Historically, similar logic drove the adoption of proximity-fuzed munitions and low-cost interceptors to counter cruise missiles and loitering threats, reserving long-range assets for high-end targets.
The visible kill markings carry strategic weight beyond unit tradition. Militarily, they signal that counter-UAS is now a routine tasking for deployed A-10s, strengthening layered defense by thinning raids and mopping up leakers before they reach protected sites. Geostrategically, they align with a broader allied posture that treats unmanned intrusions as acts requiring immediate, proportional response. The recent downing of a Russian drone over Poland by a Dutch F-35, and the subsequent display of a UAV silhouette on that aircraft, shows how such markings communicate both capability and resolve inside NATO. Together, these episodes harden deterrence by setting expectations that allied airspace and operating areas will be policed continuously with tools calibrated to the threat and the budgetary realities of sustained defense.
The appearance of Shahed-type silhouettes on an A-10 coming home from Operation Inherent Resolve is more than nose art; it is evidence that the alliance is converging on practical, scalable counters to mass-produced drones. By pairing persistence with precise, lower-cost effects, the Warthog adds a flexible air-based layer to the counter-UAS lattice and frees high-end fighters and missiles for the missions only they can perform. As drone warfare normalizes from the Middle East to Europe, this visible shift suggests a doctrine that meets quantity with quantity, resilience with endurance, and signaling with measured, repeatable action.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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An A-10C returning to Portsmouth from a CENTCOM deployment was photographed with two Shahed-type drone silhouettes and Ares nose art, suggesting air-to-air counter-UAS engagements despite no formal Air Force statement. The markings point to a practical move toward shooting down low-cost drones with cheaper weapons, not million-dollar interceptors.
On 11 October, 2025, fresh images of an A-10C Thunderbolt II returning to Portsmouth from Lajes under the callsign TABOR61 show two Shahed-type drone silhouettes painted on the nose alongside the figure of Ares. The jet had just completed roughly six months in the U.S. CENTCOM area as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a theater where one-way-attack drones have become a persistent threat. As published by @mhtplanes at X, a New England-based aviation photographer, the photos indicate the aircraft has been used against hostile UAS despite the absence of an official U.S. Air Force statement. The development matters because it points to a quiet broadening of mission sets and to a practical answer to the economic puzzle of defeating low-cost drones without expending high-end interceptors.
The appearance of Shahed-type silhouettes on an A-10 coming home from Operation Inherent Resolve is more than nose art; it is evidence that the alliance is converging on practical, scalable counters to mass-produced drones (Picture source: @mhtplanes at X)
The Warthog is well suited to downing slow, fragile Shahed-type drones thanks to endurance, sensor stability, and magazine depth. Equipped with a targeting pod and the ability to employ APKWS II in an air-to-air role, the A-10 can cue laser-guided 70 mm rockets with proximity effects against small aerial targets while maintaining long on-station windows. This combination allows multiple engagements in a single sortie, fills gaps between point defenses and higher-tier fighters, and keeps the engagement geometry simple by operating at altitudes and speeds that match the problem set rather than overmatching it.
Historically, the A-10 earned its reputation providing overwatch, convoy escort, and close air support over Iraq and Syria, where persistence and rapid retasking were decisive. Over time the platform’s integration of precision weapons, improved pods, and updated datalinks has expanded its mission flexibility. The low-visibility nature of the recent deployment, with few official images and minimal commentary, fits the pattern of a type that adapts quietly to emergent threats. The newly applied Shahed-style silhouettes, added to existing markings, function as a visible record of that adaptation.
Against comparable solutions, the A-10’s counter-UAS approach emphasizes cost and persistence. Fighters like the F-16 or F-35 can intercept drones with infrared or radar-guided missiles, but doing so is expensive and competes with other priority tasks. Ground-based short-range air defenses and naval guns offer economical answers but are tied to fixed positions or specific corridors. An A-10 carrying APKWS II offers a mobile, reusable layer that preserves premium missile inventories and reduces the cost per intercept to a level closer to the attacker’s expenditure. Historically, similar logic drove the adoption of proximity-fuzed munitions and low-cost interceptors to counter cruise missiles and loitering threats, reserving long-range assets for high-end targets.
The visible kill markings carry strategic weight beyond unit tradition. Militarily, they signal that counter-UAS is now a routine tasking for deployed A-10s, strengthening layered defense by thinning raids and mopping up leakers before they reach protected sites. Geostrategically, they align with a broader allied posture that treats unmanned intrusions as acts requiring immediate, proportional response. The recent downing of a Russian drone over Poland by a Dutch F-35, and the subsequent display of a UAV silhouette on that aircraft, shows how such markings communicate both capability and resolve inside NATO. Together, these episodes harden deterrence by setting expectations that allied airspace and operating areas will be policed continuously with tools calibrated to the threat and the budgetary realities of sustained defense.
The appearance of Shahed-type silhouettes on an A-10 coming home from Operation Inherent Resolve is more than nose art; it is evidence that the alliance is converging on practical, scalable counters to mass-produced drones. By pairing persistence with precise, lower-cost effects, the Warthog adds a flexible air-based layer to the counter-UAS lattice and frees high-end fighters and missiles for the missions only they can perform. As drone warfare normalizes from the Middle East to Europe, this visible shift suggests a doctrine that meets quantity with quantity, resilience with endurance, and signaling with measured, repeatable action.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
