The Russian threat only grows. Moscow’s air power has become increasingly dangerous and represents that when the war in Ukraine began, in February 2022. Air combat experts consulted by Business Insider point out that Russia has improved systems and weapons by producing more aircraft than it has lost.
Justin Bronk“Russia is now more dangerous to NATO than before the war because of lessons learned.”
According to data consulted by the American newspaper, Around 130 Russian fighters have been shot down during the conflict or “seriously damaged.” But since these estimates are based on interviews with Western air forces and ministries, things could be different.
For its part, Gordon Skip Davisretired general of the US army and former deputy secretary general of NATO believes that, given these circumstances, the Alliance must ensure: that before the war because of the lessons learned. In fact, “the losses may not be as heavy as the official data suggests.”
The types of Russian aircraft that have suffered the greatest losses, the Su-25SM and the Su-34 (about 40 each), are not of much use to Russia in a conflict with NATO. But, according to Brooks, the new production has led to the expansion of the total Russian fleet.
“Russia has largely kept some of its best weapons out of the fight”: In this way, it has been able to produce more of its SU-35S or their SU-34.
But the Kremlin has not only opted to improve the aerial efficiency of its army, but also its weapons. Tim Robinsona military aviation specialist at the Royal Aeronautical Society of the United Kingdom, assures that “they are doing things smarter: better tactics, new weapons.” Likewise, they are arming their planes with longer-range missiles and “have significantly contributed to increasing the threat that they can theoretically pose to NATO air operations.”
Russian pilot efficiency
According to Bronk, Russian aircrews “have become significantly more capable during the war.” Russia has lost far fewer pilots than planes. “It is more difficult to replace qualified pilots in any air force,” he explains. For a long time, Russian pilots generally flew much less than their NATO counterparts, but ““Ukraine has provided years of valuable combat experience”as reported by Davis.
