War in Ukraine
Over most of Ukraine the mutual denial of airspace has left neither side able to conduct effective air operations at anything above low level,” Justin Bronk, senior research fellow on airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute, said. “The Russians have achieved medium and high-altitude freedom to operate in the east over the Donbas, but even there they may find it difficult to translate that into meaningful battlefield advantage.” He added: “The Russians had the assets to achieve air superiority, but it seems a shortage of pilot training hours, incompetence in co-ordination, and a lack of specialised munitions experience didn’t allow them to operate as they were expected. Meantime, the Ukrainian air force has used amazing ingenuity to survive far longer than anyone predicted.”
