‘Every flight is a fight’: How Ukraine’s outgunned air force is fending off Russian jets. By Maria Varenikova.
Each night, Ukrainian pilots such as Andriy loiter in an undisclosed aircraft hangar, waiting, waiting, until the tension is broken with a shouted, one-word command: “Air!”
Andriy hustles into his Su-27 supersonic jet and hastily taxis towards the runway, getting airborne as quickly as possible. He takes off so fast that he doesn’t yet know his mission for the night, although the big picture is always the same — to bring the fight to a Russian air force that is vastly superior in numbers but has failed to win control of the skies above Ukraine.
“I don’t do any checks,” said Andriy … “I just take off.”
Ukrainian Su-27
Nearly a month into the war, one of the biggest surprises is Russia’s failure to defeat the Ukrainian air force. Military analysts had expected Russia to quickly destroy or paralyse its neighbour’s air defences and military aircraft, yet neither has happened. Instead, Top Gun-style aerial dogfights, rare in modern warfare, are now raging above the country. …
The Ukrainian air force is operating in near total secrecy. Its fighter jets can fly from air strips in western Ukraine, airports that have been bombed yet retain enough runway for take-offs or landings — or even from highways, analysts say. They are vastly outnumbered: Russia is believed to fly about 200 sorties per day while Ukraine flies five to 10.
Ukrainian pilots do have one advantage. In most of the country, Russian planes fly over territory controlled by the Ukrainian military, which can move anti-aircraft missiles to harass — and shoot down — planes. …
Most of the aerial combat in Ukraine has been nocturnal, as Russian aircraft attack in the dark when they are less vulnerable to air defences. …
Running out of working planes:
Dave Deptula, dean of the American Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and principal attack planner for the Desert Storm air campaign in Iraq, said the impressive performance of the Ukrainian pilots had helped counter their disadvantages in numbers. He said Ukraine now has roughly 55 operational fighter jets, a number that is dwindling from shoot-downs and mechanical failures. He said Ukrainian pilots were “stressing them to max performance”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed repeatedly to Western governments to replenish his air force and has asked NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over the country, a step Western leaders have refused to take. Slovakia and Poland have considered sending MiG-29 fighter jets, which Ukrainian pilots could fly with minimal additional training, but as yet no transfers have been made. …
Deptula said transferring these jets into Ukraine was critical. “Without resupply,” he said, “they will run out of aeroplanes before they run out of pilots.” …
“I only have to use my skills to win,” Andriy said. “My skills are better than the Russians. But on the other hand, many of my friends, and even those more experienced than me, are already dead.”
The relatively cheap and portable Stinger missiles can shoot down Russian planes from the ground, but do not have thermal sights so are less useful at night. Apparently this forces the Russian air-force to operate at night.
