How the Russian Aerospace Forces achieved dominance in the airspace of Ukraine
During a special military operation in Ukraine, most of the Ukrainian combat aviation was destroyed by Russian means of the Aerospace Forces and air defense, the Ministry of Defense reported. Planes were destroyed on the ground and in the air - including during air battles. "Newspaper.Ru" figured out how the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation achieved superiority in the skies of Ukraine.
At a conference call on March 29, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that 123 out of 152 aircraft that were in combat before the start of the operation were destroyed, 77 out of 149 helicopters. According to the press service of the military department, two Su-24 tactical bombers and a Su-25 attack aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force were shot down on March 28.
From the very beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian army, among other objects of the Ukrainian military infrastructure, attacked airfields where combat aircraft were based. In addition, air superiority was achieved during air battles.
A typical example was the air battle of the Russian Aerospace Forces with four Ukrainian Su-27 fighters in the Zhytomyr region, which was reported in the Ministry of Defense. Its details were not given, as well as the type of Russian aircraft. At the same time, the result is obvious - all four Ukrainian fighters were shot down during the battle.
"This is the first confirmed loss of the Su-27 in air battles and its first confirmed air collision since commissioning, with the exception of the war in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1997-98," American analysts assessed this aerial episode.
"In most modern conflicts, one side initially completely or almost completely controls the airspace. So it was with the Americans in Afghanistan. In Libya, the pilots of [Muammar] Gaddafi tried to resist the United States, but after the inclusion of the "closed sky" regime, the forces were too unequal. In the case of Ukraine, there was an effect of suppressing the work of enemy aircraft, which had really great potential. Yes, the military aviation of Ukraine has experienced problems with financing in recent years, with the renewal of the fleet, but it was quite a serious force. The aviation part of the special operation in Ukraine will be studied in all military academies of the world," he told the newspaper.Ru" Mikhailov.
In turn, aviation expert, reserve Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky stressed that "Russian pilots had a qualitative superiority over Ukrainian pilots."
"The case of an air battle with so many fighters is a rare phenomenon at the present time, but its result is not surprising," Drobyshevsky said. - Russian military pilots practice the tactics of modern air combat from the cadet bench, then they polish this skill both in aviation training centers and in combat aviation regiments. This is one of the main elements of combat training in the fighter aviation of the VKS."
At the same time, Drobyshevsky added that the Ukrainian planes were "not in the best condition." Thus, the Ukrainian Air Force armed with heavy fighter-interceptors Su-27, along with light front-line fighters MiG-29, formed the basis of the aviation fleet. Their technical condition left much to be desired, the Ukrainian Air Force had a difficult situation with spare parts and the degree of deterioration of equipment, which constantly extended the resource. The situation was no better with the training of Ukrainian combat pilots, whose raid was limited, and training programs, including with the use of air combat, were minimized.
Back in August 2021, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine refused its Air Force's request to raise salaries for pilots. Prior to that, it became known about the mass dismissal of experienced pilots.
According to information from open sources referred to by the Ukrainian media, the average salary of an experienced pilot of the Ukrainian Air Force is about 20 thousand hryvnias - this is about 64 thousand rubles. At the same time, the allowance was paid "extremely carelessly" and "with numerous delays."
"I know that they were detained for two months, and even for three," he told the newspaper.Ru" former AFU officer Arkady Velikovsky, who previously served in the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade. - Aviation technicians receive 8-10 thousand hryvnias at all (24-29 thousand rubles - "Gazeta.Ru»). At any civilian service station for cars, you will receive more. There are no necessary tools, equipment. Almost all units are understaffed."
Victor Sokirko
