The Drive: the military aviation of Ukraine can hardly compare with the Russian
In a hypothetical air battle with each other, Ukraine and Russia can use many identical aircraft models, but in completely different quantities. A comparison of the military aviation of the two countries was carried out by the American edition of The Drive.
The publication claims that the Aerospace Forces of Russia have about 1,500 combat aircraft, while in Ukraine there are about 200 of them, most of which were produced during the Soviet era. The publication notes that the modernization of military equipment carried out by Ukraine has led to mixed results.
"The military aviation of Ukraine can hardly be compared with one Russian military district, not to mention the VKS [Russia] as a whole," the publication says.
The Drive assures that Russia's allegedly planned offensive into Ukraine may be accompanied by the active use of tactical missile systems and artillery, the main targets for which will be, in particular, airfields with combat aircraft. In this case, the publication suggests that Kiev relocate its own fighters to the western part of the country, and try to restrain Moscow's offensive from the eastern direction with the Soviet air defense systems remaining in Kiev.
"Ultimately, Ukraine has relatively small military forces, and it has very few real means to launch retaliatory strikes against Russian aviation facilities near the border," the publication says.
It is noted that one of the strategies for Ukraine may be "renouncing air sovereignty over the war-torn eastern part of the country and strengthening its western part, especially around Kiev, in preparation for what may turn out to be a long and difficult conflict."
In December, the directory World Air Forces 2022, published by the magazine FlightGlobal, reported that Russia ranks second in the world after the United States in the number of military aircraft and helicopters. According to the data provided, Russia has 4,173 military aircraft (8 percent of the world's military aviation fleet). According to the materials of the same directory, Kiev currently has 43 MiG-29 light fighters, 12 Su-24 front-line bombers, 17 Su-25 attack aircraft and 26 Su-27 heavy fighters (not counting training aircraft).
