[PJMedia] The Russian Air Force (VKS) has procured 350 modern combat aircraft in the last ten years and the question that must be on every Russian's mind in the second week of the Ukraine War is: What did we get for our money?Because by all accounts, the Russian Air Force is nearly AWOL from Russia's biggest battles since 1945.
Part of what's missing is likely fear of losses to Ukraine antiaircraft missiles-weather-fixed, mobile, or man-portable air defenses (MANPADS).
One big reason the U.S. Air Force (and more recently, the Navy) went so big for stealth is that the battlespace was getting extremely uncomfortable for fighters and bombers. Soviet - later, Russian and Chinese - air defenses were getting denser and deadlier. The jet that was more difficult to detect, track, and hit would have the advantage.
The U.S. bet wisely on stealth because the modern battlefield, including Ukraine, is rife with antiaircraft missiles.
What few missions VKS has flown over Ukraine, they’ve flown mostly at night in order to minimize losses to MANPADS. The few precision strikes Russia has launched have been with cruise missiles, again to minimize risk to Russia’s expensive fleet of non-stealthy aircraft.
But what good is a modern air force that can’t be deployed in a modern battlespace?
Stealth is the price of admission to modern air warfare, but it’s a price Russia can’t afford to pay.