"One aircraft performs the functions of an artillery battery": how aviation brings us closer to victory

Find out how the battles in the sky affect the course of the war and what are the prospects of receiving new aircraft from the allies in the material.

Send 4 tons to the enemy's head at once

 “Aviation can carry out almost the most powerful attack. One aircraft performs the functions of an entire artillery battery. The Su-25 has 11 suspension points, on which approximately 4 tons of weapons such as various bombs, missiles, and blocks of unguided aerial missiles can be placed. And it can send these 4 tons to the enemy's head at once. The plane can reach targets that cannot be reached by artillery because it is limited to a distance of 30 kilometers,” says military instructor pilot, reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Roman Svitan.

There are examples in world history when combat aviation determined the success of a military operation by 99%. For example, this happened during Operation Desert Storm, which was carried out in Iraq on the night of January 16-17, 1991 by the US-led coalition. Then more than a thousand planes bombed military facilities. And only after that, the second phase of the operation began - the offensive of ground forces. Kuwait was liberated in four days.

Ukraine successfully used combat aviation at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 as well. And after a full-scale invasion, Ukrainian attack aircraft periodically destroy Russian hardware, ammunition, and strongholds. Our pilots make approximately one and a half dozen sorties to Kherson Oblast every day, notes the ex-commander of the Air Force, General Serhii Drozdov.

“They support the ground forces during the counter-offensive. Of course, it all works well together. We understand that without artillery, missile troops, and infantry, nothing will happen. The latter must go forward and win back territories,” Drozdov notes.

According to the general, the air force also protects the gunners. If the “gods of war” (as they call the gunners) have problems with ammunition, then the pilots can take over their combat mission.

“The Grach (single-seat Su-25 attack aircraft — ed.) is used only in areas where enemy anti-aircraft defenses have been destroyed, otherwise it will be easily shot down. That is, first special corridors are created so that the plane can pass. This is done by subversive groups that destroy enemy air defense or use HARM anti-radar missiles, which Ukraine received from the USA,” says Drozdov.

According to the reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Roman Svitan, American missiles made it possible to suppress the enemy's anti-aircraft defense in Kherson Oblast – both on the right and the left bank of the Dnipro.

“The frequencies and sequence of pulses of all Russian radar systems are recorded in the ‘brain’ of the HARM missile. The memory function works, and the missile goes to the radar. And even if it is turned off, it determines where the last impulse output came from — and flies to that point. Most air defense systems work in a complex — a radar and a launcher. Of course, the Russians are trying to install new radars, but it takes some time. And without it, for example, the Russian S-300 becomes blind and turns into scrap metal,” explains Svitan.

At the same time, attack aircraft can still be hit by portable anti-aircraft missile systems and enemy fighter aircraft. “That's why you can't say that our planes are completely safe there,” emphasizes one of the “ghosts of Kyiv”, the pilot “Dzhus”.

69 Ukrainian fighter jets against 772 Russian ones: how they managed not to give up the sky

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, according to FlightGlobal, the Russian Federation had approximately one and a half thousand combat aircraft: 772 fighters, 196 attack aircraft, and 543 bombers. At that time, the Ukrainian aircraft fleet was significantly behind: 69 fighters, 17 attack aircraft, and 12 bombers.

In 1991, the air fleet of Ukraine had approximately 1,100 combat aircraft.

For example, there were only 220 MiG-29 units. However, their number decreased every year, the planes were mothballed, says the ex-commander of the Air Force Serhii Drozdov. In addition, during the time of independence, not a single aircraft was added to the Ukrainian aircraft fleet. Except that after the Russian aggression in 2014, a small number of “steel birds” were restored.

“The allocated resource was barely enough to maintain the existing air fleet in good condition. There was a request for new planes from the General Staff since 2014, but at the level of the government and the parliament, this issue was not resolved due to the economic capacity of the state,” says the former commander of the Air Force, General Serhii Drozdov. According to him, if Ukraine had received modern platforms earlier, now our Air Force could be twice as effective.

They survived the beginning of a full-scale invasion only thanks to the professionalism of the military. After all, the Russians planned to destroy the Ukrainian aviation and air defense forces and capture the airspace of Ukraine in the first days of the war. However, the Ukrainian armed forces spread out and acted in separate units.

“Since 2014, we have introduced mobile fire groups of anti-aircraft missile forces. They worked separately, not as part of a division. We also kept the planes in non-obvious places where it was possible to perform tasks. New airfields were being prepared,” explains ex-commander of the Air Force Serhii Drozdov.

He notes that neither side currently has air superiority. All this is thanks to the successful work of the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces: “They (Russians — ed.) cannot fly deep into the territory controlled by us — and vice versa."

Russians use aviation hysterically and because of this they lose several planes a day

In the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, all of Ukraine watched the confrontation between our planes and Russian planes. In particular, battles were also fought in the sky over Kyiv. At that time, Ukrainian fighter jets repeatedly successfully defended the capital from invaders. The experts had a single opinion: the level of skills of Russian pilots is much lower than that of Ukrainian pilots.

After all, the Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters, which are in service with the Air Force, are inferior to the Russian Su-30, Su-35, or MiG-31 — they are more long-range, and they are armed with missiles with an active radar homing head. That is, the Russian pilot can focus on the target, launch the missile and perform another maneuver. Instead, the Ukrainian pilot is forced to “highlight” the enemy: to accompany the missile with his plane’s radar until it hits the target.

Such a gap in technology gives the enemy a considerable advantage in air battles, says “Dzhus”.

“If you come into contact with an enemy fighter, even if you are at a reasonable distance, it will simply turn home, turn on the afterburner and flee, leaving no chance to shoot it down. And at this time its missile is already flying at you. In addition, their radars have a more effective range. You're just starting to look for a target with your old radar, and they’re already keeping you in their gunsights.”

As “Dzhus” explains, at the beginning of the war, the so-called air front line had not yet been formed (the area covered by air defense along the entire line of contact — ed.). Therefore, our pilots had much more freedom of action and chances to get the enemy, sometimes they even managed to go after the enemy’s plane in close combat.

“We used various tactical maneuvers and misled the enemy. I cannot divulge the details of the maneuvers so that this information is not taken advantage of. And the Russians themselves often resorted to rather short-sighted maneuvers, overestimated themselves, and placed themselves at risk. They still hysterically use aviation in a dangerous manner. For example, when they were knocked out in Kharkiv Oblast, they lost several planes a day. This is the desire to outnumber to show some result. Sometimes they just fly for slaughter.”

Now the front line in the air can be tens of kilometers wide, and at some altitudes, it can even reach hundreds of kilometers. This zone is dangerous for flights and is controlled by air defense units.

“Enemy fighters have a longer range. Their planes are equipped with R-77 missiles, the range of which exceeds our capabilities by one and a half to two times, and the R-37 missiles have an advantage of four to five times. That is, they can launch their modern missiles at air targets without even entering this dangerous zone. And operating on the front line with those outdated missiles that we have is bordering on suicide. Even if it is necessary to destroy, for example, a bomber, I launch a missile, and then it must be escorted to the territory covered by air defense. Then I will become a target for the enemy's S-400, Buk, and other missile systems,” says the pilot.

“Dzhus” believes that until the Ukrainian air fleet receives modern Western weapons, it will be more expedient to avoid direct contact with enemy fighters.

“One of the features that distinguish us from the Russians is a more thoughtful and careful approach to task planning. We do not want to risk the crew and the plane once more. Therefore, to further effectively defend our land from the sky, we need to update our aircraft fleet.”

“Steel birds” from partners. Will there be presents for Christmas?

This issue has been repeatedly discussed in the international arena. If there was the political will of the USA, then Ukraine would have received the first MiGs from Poland and Slovakia as early as March. As of September 1, Bratislava no longer uses its 11 MiG-29 fighter jets, which were promised to Kyiv by Prime Minister Eduard Heger back in April. However, so far the initiative has been stuck in standby mode.

Swedish-American economist and diplomat, former senior researcher of the Atlantic Council analytical center Anders Åslund shared with hromadske predictions about when Ukraine will be able to receive aircraft from the West.

“Allies will transfer Soviet-style platforms in the coming months. These will be MiG-29 and Su from Eastern Europe. The countries will receive financial compensation from the US. The Americans are gradually sending more and more advanced weapons to Ukraine. Logically, the next two steps are battle tanks and Soviet aircraft. This is also facilitated by Russian terrorist attacks and the supply of Iranian Shahed drones”.

According to Åslund, the American planes will most likely arrive a few months after the Soviet ones. That is, definitely not this year.

Back in July, the House of Representatives of the US Congress approved funding for the training of Ukrainian pilots, in particular using its F-15 and F-16 aircraft. The bill provides 100 million dollars for the training of Ukrainian pilots, but it has not yet been supported by the Senate. This could be the first step for Ukraine to obtain American platforms.

“Americans don't make statements for nothing. We hope that this decision will be supported at the highest level. We have about 10 young pilots with combat experience. They speak English and are ready to start training at any time. Advisory groups are working on this issue. It is also necessary to prepare engineers and infrastructure, runways. But we have airfields with a surface suitable for American aircraft,” says Yurii Ihnat, the spokesperson of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Politiko also confirms the negotiations between Washington and Kyiv regarding the planes. However, this is done “very quietly” so as not to attract attention. As the journalists note, American officials are still concerned that such high-tech platforms could provoke a conflict between Russia and the United States.

“Americans want to choose the best moment for the transfer. It should be as confusing for the Russians as possible and influence the course of the war. So it will happen when they see the strategic necessity,” says Oleksandr Kraiev, a foreign affairs specialist, an Americanist, and expert at the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”.

If a political decision is made, after all, the F-16 aircraft can be in Ukraine in the shortest possible time.

“The planes are capable of making a quick flight with refueling in third countries. You can even refuel in the air and get additional fuel along the route,” says former Air Force commander Serhii Drozdov.

A large “Lego set” that will give Ukrainian pilots a chance to gain superiority in the air

When they talk about the renewal of the Ukrainian air fleet, the American F-16 fighter jets are most often mentioned. They have been used for almost half a century, since the end of the 70s. During this time, more than 4,500 planes left the assembly line and were sent to 26 countries around the world. The F-16 is a pretty nimble multipurpose platform, as it can be equipped with various combinations of guided bombs and missiles. They can hit both air and ground targets. This is the type of plane that pilot “Dzhus” would like to fly.

“There are dozens of F-16 modification options. This is such a huge Lego set. And for this relatively old platform, you can buy a lot of high-precision modern weapons. These planes will be able to give us a chance to gain superiority in the air, and Ukraine can get them in sufficient numbers. We will have great chances of success in the fight against Russian fighters. Their accuracy and range are much higher than those of our planes,” says “Dzhus”.

However, according to him, the transfer of the MiG-29 from the allies will strengthen the Ukrainian Air Force, but will not fundamentally change the situation in the sky. After all, these planes are too old.

Justin Bronk, an expert in military aviation and a researcher at the Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies, also speaks about the high efficiency of the F-16.

“They can be very useful in the coastal area and can guarantee the security of trade routes. For such operations, Harpoon missiles can be used to push cruise missile ships away from Odesa. Also, these planes easily shoot down the cruise missiles themselves.”

As Bronk points out, to achieve parity in the air against technological Russian R-77 missiles, American AMRAAM missiles are definitely needed along with fighters.

Of course, the US also has more modern platforms in service, such as the F-35 or F-22 Raptor. However, they were produced in much smaller numbers, so our Air Force is unlikely to receive these fighters.

Author: Yevgenii Shulhat