Why Russia Couldn’t Win the Sky Over Ukraine
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When Russia invaded Ukraine, many people expected the Russian Air Force to take control of the sky almost immediately. Russia had more fighters, more bombers, more helicopters, more missiles, and a much larger military machine. Ukraine was smaller, outnumbered, and under tremendous pressure.
So why didn’t Russia win the sky?
In this episode of Aviation Adventures with Captain Ron, I look at the Ukraine air war from a pilot’s perspective. Russia could still hurt Ukraine from the air, and it has. But hurting someone from the air is not the same as owning the air.
Ukraine kept enough air defenses alive to make Russian pilots cautious. Mobile surface-to-air missiles, shoulder-fired missiles, radar discipline, drones, electronic warfare, intelligence, and Western support all helped keep Ukrainian airspace contested. Russia never achieved the kind of freedom of action many expected.
This is not a video saying Russia’s Air Force is harmless. It is not. The real lesson is more important: having more airplanes on paper does not automatically mean controlling the sky. Modern air superiority is a system fight involving aircraft, drones, missiles, radars, jammers, logistics, training, and adaptation.
This is Part Three in my Ukraine airpower series. Part One asked whether Ukraine made fighter pilots obsolete. Part Two looked at how Ukraine held off Russia. In this episode, we look at why Russia’s Air Force could not win the sky over Ukraine.
Thanks for watching Aviation Adventures with Captain Ron.
Short description version
Why couldn’t Russia win the sky over Ukraine? Captain Ron looks at air defense, drones, SEAD, electronic warfare, training, and why having more aircraft does not automatically mean air superiority.
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