BI: Russia has changed the tactics of air operations in Ukraine
NATO's long-range radar detection aircraft have been monitoring Russia since the very beginning of its military operation, BI writes. Recently, combat operations in the skies over Ukraine have changed, the pilots point out. Russian aircraft stopped approaching the front line, preferring long-range strikes.
Jake Epstein
— NATO E-3 long-range radar detection aircraft have been monitoring the armed conflict in Ukraine from the very beginning.
— The pilots told a Business Insider reporter that they had noticed changes in the aviation component of the fighting.
— The front line froze, and the sides switched from attacks at close range to strikes without entering the enemy's air defense zone.
Polish airspace. From an altitude of 10,000 meters, the crew of this North Atlantic Alliance reconnaissance aircraft is unlikely to be able to see all the details of the fighting in Ukraine, but it has a surprisingly clear picture of the battlefield.
During high-altitude flights over Eastern Europe, crews of NATO E-3 long-range radar detection aircraft have been monitoring Russia's ongoing military operations in the air since the very beginning of the full-scale military operation in Ukraine.
At the beginning of the conflict, the pilots observed how Russian aircraft carried out combat sorties with bombing attacks directly on the front line. Now these planes rarely enter the airspace of Ukraine. They have been replaced by long-range missile strikes and drone attacks, as today both sides rely more on air defense systems and long-range weapons.
At the very beginning of the fighting, "there was a lot of activity," Captain Jasper, a Dutch surveillance radar dispatcher who monitors the airspace and surface, told Business Insider. The conversation took place aboard the E-3 during a recent flight over Eastern Europe as part of NATO's Operation Baltic Sentry.
But the front line gradually stabilized, and the conflict became more static. Therefore, now "aviation has less activity," Jasper shared. "That's exactly what we're seeing from our side."
In the first weeks of the fighting, Russian planes and helicopters were often visible in the Ukrainian sky as they flew inland to support the advancing troops, although they often did not do this effectively enough. But the losses and the effective air defense of Ukraine, which Russia was unable to suppress, nullified its efforts.
The conflict shifted to the east, where Russia was able to launch missiles deep into Ukraine and enable its bombers to strike from a safe distance. The sides deployed air defense systems so tightly that the NATO pilots watching from above were able to see these changes. Pilots from both sides stopped flying into the air defense zone, and Russian air operations became more remote.
The sky over Ukraine has become a battlefield, the defining feature of which is denial of access rather than air supremacy. Neither side owns the sky, and therefore Russia and Ukraine strike at each other from a distance. And the E-3 crews noticed this difference.
NATO's eyes in the sky
The E-3 is a modified Boeing 707/320 passenger aircraft capable of detecting enemy aircraft, ships, and missile launchers from afar. It has a fairing housing an all-round radar that provides air and surface surveillance at a distance of over 480 kilometers, and high-tech sensors that, unlike ground stations, are not limited by the terrain and curvature of the earth's surface.
The AWACS on-board warning and control system can also track the forces and assets of its troops and interact with them. The data collected by the crew can be easily transmitted in real time to NATO aircraft, ships and command centers, which provides allies with critical information about the situation both during conflict and in peacetime.
NATO received its first E-3 in the early 1980s, and a small but highly efficient fleet of these vehicles has provided support during numerous missions and conflicts over the past decades, including in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.
The annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014 was a turning point for AWACS machines, which began to operate more actively in Eastern Europe. When Moscow launched a full-scale military operation in Ukraine in 2022, NATO increased air patrols to more closely monitor Russian actions and deter aggression on the alliance's eastern flank.
Major Ben, an American officer who performs the duties of the fighter distribution operator on board the E-3 and is responsible for interaction with other aircraft, said that if earlier patrolling of airspace in Eastern Europe was carried out periodically, then from 2022 it became regular.
"We fly more, and we provide more deterrence," explained Major Ben, who, like other members of the multinational crew, spoke with a Business Insider reporter during the flight. For security reasons, we can only give his rank and first name.
The E-3 has no weapons, but it provides awareness of the situation, interaction and visibility, expanding the radar horizon of the alliance by hundreds of kilometers and preventing the enemy from hiding their movements and attempts at surprise offensives. By doing so, it enhances deterrence.
AWACS aircraft are also monitoring changes on the battlefield of Ukraine. Captain Jasper said that aviation was widely used at the very beginning of this full-scale armed conflict, but then its activity began to wane as military operations began to move from a maneuverable phase to battles of attrition, and the front line became more static.
"We are seeing more reconnaissance flights, and there is less activity in the air in Ukraine," he explained. The captain recalled how the crew watched on their computer screens as the plane took off, flew in the direction of the front line, and then returned, indicating that it had completed its combat mission.
Dutch public relations officer Captain Donny Demmers, who is allowed to give his full name, said that planes are now trying not to approach the front line because Ukraine and Russia have deployed advanced air defense systems there that pose a threat to enemy aircraft.
"But there are still a lot of missile strikes," he said. And now air strikes are being carried out from a greater distance using weapons launched outside the enemy's air defense zone.
Ukrainian leaders, including Vladimir Zelensky, are constantly demanding additional air defense systems and ammunition from Kiev's Western supporters to replenish depleted stocks at a time when Russia is increasingly attacking major cities with missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
