As Vladimir Putinordered the attack on February 24Ukraineas the tank column heading towards Kyiv reached the first suburbs before being forced into an inglorious retreat, everyone expected that crucial support would come from fighters, from the Russian Air Force, who would sow terror in Ukrainian cities and hit all the main targets.
Putin, banker and friend Yuri Kovalchuk urges war: ‘So we can demonstrate Russia’s strength’
Flop of Russian aviation in Ukraine, the reasons
After many months, analysts had to take note of the lack of penetration of Russian fighters. Moscow viciously attacks Ukrainian cities, only by firing missiles from the Black Sea, but mostly by bombing them with Iranian-made drones. Where from? The first reason, according to analysts, is that Russian pilots are not trained enough, they have only a few flight hours and therefore the risk of losing many planes in one mission is too high.
The report
A few weeks ago, the UK Ministry of Defense report stated: “Russia’s continued lack of air superiority is likely to be compounded by poor training, the loss of experienced aircrew and the increased risk of conducting close air support in heavily defended areas.
Russian planes shot down
According to Kiev military chief Zaluzhnyi, Ukrainian troops have already shot down 278 Russian planes. Forbes magazine comments: «It’s almost certainly an exaggeration. But not much. Independent analysts have confirmed the destruction of 184 Russian planes through photo and video evidence. The Ukrainians captured 73 more aircraft from the Russians for a total of 257 confirmed Russian losses. But be warned: most casualties – and all catches – are small drones that don’t cost much and are easier to replace than manned planes for the Kremlin. However, this reservation does not invalidate Zaluzhnyi’s testimony. Russia’s air losses over Ukraine are high.”
The penalty knot
The result, according to Forbes: “The foreign sanctions against the Russian aerospace industry, which have been tightened since February, have reduced the industry’s ability to absorb losses. The Kremlin, even before the harshest sanctions, was not very quick to buy new planes. Now he buys them even more slowly. “Russia’s aircraft losses are likely to far exceed its ability to produce new ones,” the UK MoD said. It could be a decade or more before the Russian Air Force returns to full strength.” Not only that: “The loss of expert teams could be even more catastrophic than the loss of vehicles. “The time it takes to develop competent pilots training further reduces Russia’s ability to regenerate combat air capacity,” the UK MoD said.
Confirming an article in Business Insider, written by Greek Army veteran analyst Stavros Atlamazoglou, “The performance of the Russian Air Force in Ukraine before the war was well below expectations.” attacked, nobody expected that the Russian Aerospace Forces would be so ineffective. On paper, Russia had a highly capable air force consisting of hundreds of fourth-generation fighter jets, as well as attack and transport helicopters. But Russian planes never managed to achieve air superiority over Ukraine. There are several reasons for Russia’s air failure, including inadequate training and poor situational awareness, but the Ukrainian Air Force has also fought valiantly against a larger and more advanced adversary, flying combat missions even in the face of strong opposition.
The mobile air defense systems, which the Russians can only avoid by flying at very low altitudes, have proven to be very effective: but they require a lot of training, which Moscow’s top guns lack.
But be careful: Not even the Ukrainians managed to take control of the sky. Their air force also suffers from the same problems. In fact, air defense systems on both fronts are proving to be very effective. Business Insider’s analysis concludes, “Ukrainian airspace remains contested and deadly for both sides, but pilots continue to fly over the front lines. Russian jets are still conducting largely ineffective air support with barrages of bombs and unguided missiles, while Ukrainian warplanes have become more active as Ukrainian forces advance, according to a recent report by the Royal United Services Institute.
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