Published: Less than 50 min ago
The Russian Air Force has failed to utilize its superior resources.
After the new threat, Putin is said to have had enough.
Experienced fighter pilots are to be lured back to create a “Wagner group in the air”.
An “elite force” is now to be created to support the regular air force which has “underperformed significantly” since the war began in February last year.
This is stated by the British Ministry of Defense in its daily analysis.
At the start of the war, the Russian air force was said to be ten times as large as Ukraine’s.
The new threat: the F-16
But they have not succeeded in using their superior resources to dominate the air.
And now the stakes are increasing even further.
After many and long pleas from Ukraine for fighter planes, Joe Biden has now changed his mind and gives the go-ahead to F-16 planes.
The US government approves allies training Ukrainian pilots and sending fighter jets to defend in the Russian offensive.
The Netherlands and Britain have previously said the two countries are forming a coalition to help Ukraine get F-16 planes.
Putin’s plan for elite force
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said after Biden’s announcement that Denmark is starting preparations to be able to train Ukrainian pilots.
According to the analysis from the British Ministry of Defence, Putin has now had enough.
He wants to attract experienced elite pilots back to the Air Force. These are to form a spearhead in the air war.
It is stated that the elite force, codenamed “Shtorm”, will contain at least two aviation divisions and at least one division of attack helicopters.
The British single out both tactical bombers and fighters among the types of aircraft that will form part of the elite force.
Attract capable veterans
“The mix of aircraft types indicates that the force will primarily carry out attack operations against the ground,” the Ministry of Defense writes.
It is stated that the pilots are to be found among former veterans of the Russian Air Force.
“Credible information in the media in Russia indicates that the Russian Ministry of Defense is trying to attract skilled and motivated pilots by offering high salaries and open to the recruitment of retired pilots,” write the British.
British military analyst and former intelligence officer Philip Ingram tells Newsweek that he is skeptical about how effective “Shrorm” can be for Russia.
“Totally desperate”
– I think that the information about an elite air force is yet another sign that they are completely desperate, he tells the newspaper.
– That Russian aviation has not had a major impact so far, despite the fact that they should have total air supremacy just by their size, gives an insight into the status of the Russian air force.
Ingram compares the plans to the Wagner group, the private army that has been used in the fighting in several places when the regular army is not up to the task.
– The idea of a kind of “Wagner group in the air” is a sign of desperation and a lack of experienced and talented pilots. Bringing back retired pilots will not help because they have lost their skills and do not have the experience to handle the sophisticated air defense capabilities now in Ukrainian hands. The Russians are grasping at straws, says Philip Ingram to Newsweek.