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As Bombs Rained Down, Ukrainian Troops Set A Trap For Russia’s Pilots
Forbes ^ | 10th November 2022 | David Axe

Posted on 11/11/2022 9:46:53 PM PST by Cronos

The Russian air force had deployed three times as many fighters and attack planes as the Ukrainian air force had in its entire inventory. Ukraine’s air defenses were disorganized and, in the case of certain key long-range radars, sitting out in the open where the Russians easily could target them.

The Russians had a firepower advantage. The Ukrainians had the same advantages every defender possesses over an invader: motivation, simpler logistics, familiar terrain. Either side might’ve prevailed—the Russians by dominating the air, the Ukrainians by preventing the Russians from dominating the air.

We know how it turned out. The Russian air campaign fizzled. Ukrainian air defenses stiffened. By month nine of the wider war, the Ukrainians were counterattacking, the Russians were retreating and the Russian air force was losing more planes and helicopters than the Ukrainian air force was. A lot more.

To understand how Russia’s aerial advantage evaporated, Justin Bronk, Nick Reynolds and Jack Watling from the Royal United Services Institute in London interviewed key Ukrainian officials. The result is the definitive study of the Ukraine air war’s first phase.

https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/special-resources/russian-air-war-and-ukrainian-requirements-air-defence

The increasing panic of Russian ground troops, overextended in a doomed attempt to capture Kyiv, compelled Russian pilots to switch from attacking Ukrainian air defenses to supporting the ground forces.

That’s when Ukraine’s most important air defenses—its Buk mobile missiles—forced Russian air crews into a deadly, low-altitude trap. One that badly bloodied Russia’s best flying regiments and set the conditions for the aerial impasse that has come to define the war.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Russia
KEYWORDS: 0iqputintrolls; 0iqrussiantrolls; 5hill4democrats; chechens; chechnya; davidaxe; davidaxeisaclown; davidaxelol; deathtorussia; dontaxemeimaclown; embarrassingdavidaxe; fabulism; fabulistdavidaxe; globalistpropaganda; globalistreality; globalistsrapeputin; gopniki; jackwatling; justinbronk; loldavidaxe; loldavidaxelol; nickreynolds; norsebadenov; putinlovertrollsonfr; putinrapesrussia; putinsbuttboys; putinworshippers; ramzankadyrov; ridiculousclown; russia; russianaggression; russianatrocities; russianincompetence; russiansuicide; russianviking; russianwarcrimes; russianwarcriminals; sergeyshoigu; ukraine; vatniks; vladtheimploder; wagnergroup; yevgenyprigozhin; zottherussiantrolls
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To: NorseViking

I was refering to USA large cities which are primary targets and full of Democrats. We ain’t going to be doing ground war with Russians. or Chinese for that matter.


21 posted on 11/11/2022 10:25:30 PM PST by rellic
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To: NorseViking; kiryandil

So you finally admit that Russia is our enemy that can’t be trusted, not a friend

good, that’s progress


22 posted on 11/11/2022 10:28:55 PM PST by canuck_conservative
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To: Cronos

Nobody is going to come and kill Americans. Russia is simply going to put all the efforts into supporting people the US would come to kill.
Regarding Putin, I asked you this question many times and you never answered.
You simultaneously push two conflicting narratives. First, Russia is a colossus on clay feet entirely held together by Putin and it is going to collapse once he is gone. Second, Putin is destroying Russia and the Russians need to put him down to stop it. How can both of the narratives be true?
And another question. What makes you think that Putin’s replacement is going to be good for you? The above dilemma says that it is going to get tougher.


23 posted on 11/11/2022 10:30:27 PM PST by NorseViking
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To: NorseViking

Russia’s inability to plan and conduct large, complex aerial strike packages is one of the country’s most significant unforeseen weaknesses during this war, and one that largely explains its inability to establish air superiority over Ukraine.

Ukraine’s air denial strategy prevented Russia from responding rapidly to halt the Ukrainian advance even once it recognized a second counterattack was underway in the Kharkiv region.

Ukrainian tanks and military vehicles rumbling down highways and across open fields in broad daylight should have made easy work for the Russian Air Force. But Ukraine’s air denial strategy made Russian pilots wary of flying into Ukrainian airspace at all, much less loitering and hunting for targets on their own.

Instead, Russian warplanes reportedly only attack targets with known coordinates, as called in by Russian ground forces. But Russia’s shortage of reliable tactical reconnaissance drones means many of its ground units cannot see what is over the next hill, further degrading reconnaissance-strike capabilities.

most VKS pilots get around 100 hours’ (and in many cases less) flying time per year – around half of that flown by most NATO air forces. They also lack comparable modern simulator facilities to train and practise advanced tactics in complex environments. The live flying hours which Russian fighter pilots do get are also significantly less valuable in preparing pilots for complex air operations

its operational commanders have very little practical experience of how to plan, brief and coordinate complex air operations involving tens or hundreds of assets in a high-threat air environment.

You don’t have air superiority despite your superior number of aircraft.

What an utter failure


24 posted on 11/11/2022 10:32:33 PM PST by Cronos (.)
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To: NorseViking; ModelBreaker; canuck_conservative; marcusmaximus; tlozo; Greetings_Puny_Humans

Nosewanking in post 9 “How many Americans do you think it is going to kill over a couple of generations?”

Nosewanking in post 22 “Nobody is going to come and kill Americans. Russia is simply going to put all the efforts into supporting people the US would come to kill.”
Incredible, Kremlin propaganda contradicts itself in the same thread.


25 posted on 11/11/2022 10:35:15 PM PST by Cronos (.)
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To: canuck_conservative

That’s a primitive conclusion worthy of complete simpleton but you largely explained the way the Western foreign policy way of thinking by this comment.
You come to somebody’s house, crap on his lawn and break windows, and then he expresses his disappointment and kicks your butt you say it is proof thst he is an enemy and can’t be trusted. That’s the US foreign policy in the nutshell. The problem is that fewer people care about your trust each day.


26 posted on 11/11/2022 10:36:03 PM PST by NorseViking
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To: Cronos; 867V309
pretty significant pushback

How many times do the Russians have to repeat that it's not about "territory", but that it's about destroying the Ukrainian military?

DANG, dude!!

27 posted on 11/11/2022 10:37:06 PM PST by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: Cronos

I know that you guys like the true SJWs are talented in propping your propaganda by picking words out of context.
There is no contradiction if you’d quote my posts in full.


28 posted on 11/11/2022 10:37:59 PM PST by NorseViking
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To: NorseViking

Nosewanking “First, Russia is a colossus on clay feet entirely held together by Putin and it is going to collapse once he is gone. Second, Putin is destroying Russia and the Russians need to put him down to stop it. How can both of the narratives be true?”

The first statement is your narrative and not true. Russia was perceived a colossus. But now, thanks to Putin we realise it isn’t. It’s just a ramshackle bunch of sticks held together by propaganda narratives of a non existent past.

Putin has destroyed that narrative and hence destroyed Russia.

Russians should have removed him earlier this year to stem the rot and keep a fig leaf.

But they didn’t and hes going to demolish the bundle of sticks that is your Russia.

Meanwhile you make threats like “Russia is simply going to put all the efforts into supporting people the US would come to kill.”


29 posted on 11/11/2022 10:39:31 PM PST by Cronos (.)
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To: NorseViking

A Soviet jockey warrior posing as a Norse viking ie Varangian states “Russia is simply going to put all the efforts into supporting people the US would come to kill.”

That’s a whole sentence of yours and pretty clear


30 posted on 11/11/2022 10:40:45 PM PST by Cronos (.)
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To: NorseViking

A Soviet jockey warrior posing as a Norse viking ie Varangian states “The point is that just a decade ago 70% of Russians considered the US a friendly country. Now 90% consider you a bitter enemy. How many Americans do you think it is going to kill over a couple of generations?...”

That statement of yours is pretty clear


31 posted on 11/11/2022 10:42:32 PM PST by Cronos (.)
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To: Cronos

Love it Cronos and have a nice day.

SLAVA UKRAINI ! ! ! ! -—— All tyrants must die, and the sooner the better. Perhaps of pancreatic cancer. Sic semper tyrannis.


32 posted on 11/11/2022 10:42:56 PM PST by dennisw ("You don't have to like it. You just have to do it")
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To: kiryandil

Destroying the Russian military. Yes, the Russian military is doing quite a good job of destroying itself


33 posted on 11/11/2022 10:43:18 PM PST by Cronos (.)
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To: Cronos

First, the issue you are raising is not the same as air superiority, meaning that you are switching topics. You still don’t understand the meaning of air power and the way how this war is fought. Air power is one of the main contributors to the loopsided loss ratio between Ukrainian and Russian forces, especially on Kherson direction where it has largely destroyed all the Ukrainian advances since April. In Harkov Ukraine assembled a force of 20k against 1,5k max of mostly rear troops and rebels. Ukraine’s units lost about half of this force, mostly to air power, some units lost completely or suffered 80% casualties.


34 posted on 11/11/2022 10:47:12 PM PST by NorseViking
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To: Cronos; NorseViking

“A Soviet jockey warrior posing as a Norse viking ie Varangian”

lols You got his number. Norse, how is the weather in Moscow and St Petersburg? Did you buy a new fur lined hat for this winter?


35 posted on 11/11/2022 10:47:22 PM PST by dennisw ("You don't have to like it. You just have to do it")
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To: NorseViking

??? This isn’t 1980. There are a shit ton of Dems in the military.


36 posted on 11/11/2022 10:49:07 PM PST by Levy78 (Reject modernity, embrace tradition. )
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To: 867V309

Why should he be? He’s not the one supporting an evil, tyrannical regime, nor is he lying about the events of the war. He has nothing to be ashamed about. You should be ashamed - but you have none.


37 posted on 11/11/2022 10:49:47 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
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To: Cronos

Yep, it is pretty clear, hence no comtradiction.


38 posted on 11/11/2022 10:50:04 PM PST by NorseViking
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To: NorseViking
I know that you guys like the true SJWs are talented in propping your propaganda by picking words out of context.

Yep, you called it.

You were predicting the outcome of the bellicosity of the American neocons towards the average Russian - who now probably view the Westerners as rabid dogs instead of friendly puppies.

39 posted on 11/11/2022 10:52:12 PM PST by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: Cronos


hey deep state troll:

russia has nukes

ukes don't

you think ukes can win

I don't

you think the insane biden/obammy can trick the USA in to a nuclear confrontation

I don't

game over


40 posted on 11/11/2022 10:53:51 PM PST by 867V309 (Lock Her Up)
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