I saw this today on Yahoo! News – Why Russia’s air force failed to dominate Ukraine: https://news.yahoo.com/why-russias-air-force-failed-to-dominate-ukraine-135016604.html. Longer article.
Niamh Cavanagh May 10, 2022
LONDON — Many observers expected Russia’s air force to blow away Ukraine’s forces in the opening days of the Kremlin’s invasion. Ukraine’s military would be left completely vulnerable as Russian warplanes could pick off targets at whim.
But that hasn’t happened.
More than two months later, Russia has still not established air supremacy over large swaths of Ukraine, despite having the world’s second-largest air force — and a highly advanced one at that. The New York Times reported Monday that, according to the U.S. Defense Department, Ukraine “continues to fly its own fighters and attack jets against Russian troops.”
Russia’s air force has even been timid as Ukraine’s relatively scrappy anti-air defenses remain a formidable threat. NATO countries have done their best to flood Ukraine with man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS, like the U.S.-made Stinger missile. The Stinger system can be fired by a single operator, whose missile locks onto aircraft with infrared guidance.
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Ups Downs Family History 