Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The high level of losses in trained pilots and usable flight equipment is forcing the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to resort to various tricks. Sources of the German publication Bild said: in order to hide the location of their aircraft, the command of the Ukrainian Air Force is restoring all Soviet-era airfields. And - more curiously - the creation of new runways on the roads.
The purpose of this know-how is to ensure the launches of air-launched cruise missiles delivered to Ukraine (in other words, missiles that are placed on aircraft). These are British long-range Storm Shadow missiles and British-French SCALP missiles of the same class.
According to Bild, Ukrainian technicians were able to re-equip a number of Soviet Su-24 front-line bombers and adapt them for the mentioned missiles, which are supplied from the UK and France, respectively.
Su-24 is the main strike force of the Ukrainian Air Force. It is these machines, we recall, that attacked our infrastructure facilities. In particular, along the Chongarsky bridge , connecting the Crimea and new territories. And although Russian troops regularly attack the air bases of the Ukrainian Air Force, trying to destroy the remaining Ukrainian aircraft, some of them still remain in service.
As for the mentioned ways to hide the "drying" from the eyes of our intelligence and missile strikes, there are several ways. The Ukrainian Air Force not only uses proven tactics, but also comes up with their own original techniques, a military pilot, a participant in hostilities, explained to Regnum news agency.
“When we worked in Syria, we studied the experience of the local Air Force. They were in a more disastrous state than Ukraine is now, and they were waiting for the US missiles to cover them,” the source said. “ The Syrians were engaged in the fact that, if possible, they dispersed usable equipment over several airfields so as not to create accumulations of aircraft at one point.”
The recipe is proven and working, but now, when loitering ammunition, drones are massively used , this no longer works, a military expert comments.
“It’s not a pity to release a drone on a single plane. And five drones. Therefore, the Ukrainian "flyers" are cunning in every possible way, - the interlocutor notes. - Satellite imagery data that is published in the public domain shows that they "shuffle" working planes with dead cars. Here is one "drying" combat-ready, and around three or four unusable.
Therefore, they often move unusable aircraft, or rather their remains, in an effort to confuse our intelligence. They even repaint the wreckage.”
In addition, the enemy really regularly moves planes from one base to another so that they do not cluster anywhere and do not linger for more than a day, the source added.
VVSU - SHABBY, BUT NOT FINISHED OFF
In the first months of the NMD, the Ukrainian Air Force lost most of its air bases located in the eastern and southern regions. In particular, the Kulbakino air base near Nikolaev, the Chernobaevka airfield near Kherson, the bases in Kremenchug and Poltava, and several other facilities were put out of action.
The surviving enemy aircraft were relocated to airfields in Zhytomyr, Khmelnitsky and Lvov. But these bases are removed from the front line, which forces the Ukrainian Air Force to look for alternatives, the source said.
“If we are talking about helicopters, then everything is quite simple. A jump field airfield can also be organized in an open field, if there is a desire. It’s more difficult with an airplane, because you need a runway, ” the expert explained. - But then again, if we recall the experience of the Great Patriotic War, the partisans created airfields in the forests, on frozen rivers and lakes. To land, refuel and take off is enough. So they can't have a problem with that."
At the same time, the specialist added, the information about the creation of airfields on Ukrainian highways seems somewhat unrealistic for several reasons.
WHY ROADS WILL NOT BE CONVERTED INTO AIRFIELDS
“The author of this article in Bild is a well-known, to put it mildly, balabol named Julian Röpke , who calls himself a military expert,” the interlocutor noted. - Ryopke saw somewhere that there is such a practice as practicing take-off and landing from a freeway or from an unequipped airfield. Recently there were such exercises in Finland. But in Ukraine, all this does not make sense .
First, every Soviet regional center has an airport. “Even if abandoned. Plus, there are small airfields in the regional centers. Add to this military airfields, of which there are five in the Kiev region alone, ” the military expert pointed out. Therefore, the question arises: why so toil with the tracks? We need a smooth road in good condition, it must be constantly blocked. "For what? He took the airport of some Cherkassy or Vinnitsa, repaired the take-off, put a dozen covered hangars to hide equipment, - the military pilot explained. - There is an air raid: "drying" from Vinnitsa flies to Gaisin, Bila Tserkva. Once - relocated in a matter of minutes.
The Soviet Union has already built everything, why complicate it? The country is huge, hiding a dozen planes in it is a trifling matter.
Each pilot who goes on a sortie receives approved contingency plans, the expert recalled. “The pilot must have at least two airfields that are most suitable for landing, and several reserve ones that can be used in emergency cases,” the source said. Former airfields of small aviation, sports airfields, unequipped sites on a flat area can be used as backup.
After launching the missiles, the aircraft must descend to an extremely low altitude, leaving the radar coverage area on one of the agreed routes. And it is far from necessary to return to the base from which the flight was made.
WESTERN INTELLIGENCE HELPS IN THE "GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK"
But the question remains how Ukrainian planes immediately after the attack go to the reserve airfield, avoiding the pursuit of Russian fighters and air defense strikes.
In this Kyiv is supported by "Western partners". When performing a combat mission, Ukrainian fighters and front-line bombers can receive information from electronic reconnaissance aircraft of NATO countries, which fly almost around the clock to the western and southern borders of Ukraine.
“There, who just doesn’t fly,” the source of IA Regnum noted . The interlocutor listed: Boeing E-8 JSTARS and Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint electronic reconnaissance aircraft, Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft with AWACS detection and guidance systems.
“A complete set,” the interlocutor emphasized. - RER planes are trying to listen to our negotiations, AWACS are looking for our planes in the air. There is a threat - they pass it on to their wards, they immediately leave the possible affected area for one of the alternate airfields - depending on the situation. Actually, this is how the Air Force of any country works, so there is no mystery here. ”
MOMENT OF VULNERABILITY
At the same time, despite all their tricks, the Ukrainian Air Force is still vulnerable right at the time of a sortie, and especially when launching a cruise missile. Due to the technical features of the Storm Shadow missiles, the bomber is forced to rise higher, becoming visible.
“The best option, of course, is to know the routes of sorties and retreat to an alternate airfield,” the source said to IA Regnum . - But this is a secret, of course, and falls within the competence of intelligence. Therefore, we do not take this option. It remains to catch them at the time of departure .
Still, the range of the missiles that use the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not the longest, the military pilot explained. In order to hit objects in our rear, the enemy is forced to approach the front. “At this moment, they would be spotted and crushed when they are high enough and at the same time close. If it doesn’t work out, then you need to track where they land and strike immediately, without wasting time on coordination, until they hid and refueled for a flight farther to the west, ”the expert said . Such a destruction scheme is quite complicated, "but it is quite solvable."
Despite the fact that Ukrainian aviation is still capable of delivering strikes, including quite sensitive ones, it is worth noting that the lack of military aircraft does not allow Kyiv to organize larger attacks. The actions of the surviving enemy Su-24s are intended to inflict rather moral damage, experts believe. They point out that, since several weeks often pass between flights, during this time all the damage caused is successfully repaired. Therefore, experts conclude, the final elimination of the Ukrainian Air Force may not be considered task number 1. At least until Ukraine has NATO-style aircraft.
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