Masters of War: Russian May 9 'VIctory' Parade Fanfare in Red Square - Flyovers Mysteriously Absent!

Putin has his puppets. Featured here, in the May 9, 2022 annual Victory Parade in Red Square, is the notorious militarist responsible for thousands of unecessary death of Russian and non-Russian soldiers and civilians.

Originally this cover of Bob Dylan's masterpiece would have included footage of Russian flyovers. The question on everyone's mind is "Why No Aircraft?"

According to Forbes:

"The abrupt purge of the Russian Air Force may reflect the service’s unreliability, its poor performance and continued inability to take control of Ukraine airspace..."

"Russia’s helicopter fleet is taking a steady beating, and given battlefield attrition, Moscow parade planners expected to use no more than 15 helicopters, a humiliating reduction from a big contingent of 23 choppers just a year ago."

"The story is no better for Russia’s fixed-wing aircraft. Sukhoi Su-30 Flankers and Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers, facing heavy losses and high demand, were not going to be represented in the Red Square parade, either."

"Instead, the Moscow parade was set to celebrate Russia’s creaky fleet of Mikoyan Mig-29 fighter jets. After showing 4 Mig-29s in previous victory parades, Russia was set to use 16 Mig-29s, sending the older fighters out to conduct a “Z” pattern fly-by."

"Outside of the “Z” formation flight, the show’s central—and most provocative—attraction was originally to be filled by the Ilyushin IL-80 “Maxdome” command and control aircraft, a “doomsday” plane that ensures Russian leaders remain in contact with their nuclear arsenal during a war. But with only three copies still flying, the 35-year-old derivation of the IL-86 passenger aircraft had little backup in the event the designated parade aircraft broke down."

"Had the parade gone forward without the “doomsday” headliner, the aircraft’s absence would have been widely noted and widely discussed. Some might seize on the idea that Russia was ramping down their dangerous rhetoric about nuclear war—something that Putting may not want. Alternatively, the aircraft’s abrupt disappearance might suggest that Russia’s vaunted strategic forces are in disarray. Putin’s hold on power may turn on the respect others offer to Russia’s strategic warfighters, and a demonstration of unreliability may have been too much to bear. Shutting the entire parade down over “weather” concerns may have been far easier an option."

.:.. under less-than-perfect conditions, if the war is sucking away Russia’s best pilots, the second stringers on parade fly-over duty may not have been quite ready to strut their ragged gear and skills before a global audience."

"Fuel may have been a problem too. Mig-29s are notorious gas-guzzlers. ..."

"The Real Storm Clouds: Moscow’s Security Fears"

?...parades are dangerous places for unstable and contested regimes. In 1981, Egypt’s president, Anwar Sadat, celebrating Egypt’s successful attack on the Suez Canal, was shot and killed in the midst of the military pageantry. "
...
"While threats on the ground can be managed by trusted security forces, aircraft are kinetic instruments, piloted by individuals. The cockpit is one of the few places where Russian security agents are absent. An individual pilot with a grudge, at the controls of a high-performance jet, could easily take matters into his own hands, plowing the aircraft into the big, easily identified reviewing stand before anybody could react. And Putin, surrounded by aging veterans, would be an unmissable target."

"With rumors of intergovernmental tension and increasing insubordination in the mid-level officer corps, the abrupt cut of Russia’s Air Force fly-over—despite several successful practice-runs under far worse weather—is notable. At a minimum, the sudden ceremonial purge of Russia’s Air Force suggests that the Russian Air Force is unreliable operationally, and, potentially, politically."

General Background:

The most important parade of those being held on May 9 is the one held on Moscow's Red Square, with the President of Russia as the guest of honor and keynote speaker in virtue of his constitutional mandate as Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces. The parade is a commemoration of the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Red Army, marking the end of the Eastern Front of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War.

According to anthropologist Sergey Ushakin, modern victory parades are intended to demonstrate the direct and immediate connection of the present with the past and to materialize the connection between generations.[1] Long time parade commander Oleg Salyukov described them as a "celebration for people, not show of militarism" referring to accusations of the parade being used as show of Russian military might.- Wikipedia

[jdeverhard]

Putin has his puppets. Featured here, in the May 9, 2022 annual Victory Parade in Red Square, is the notorious militarist responsible for thousands of unecessary death of Russian and non-Russian soldiers and civilians.

Originally this cover of Bob Dylan's masterpiece would have included footage of Russian flyovers. The question on everyone's mind is "Why No Aircraft?"

According to Forbes:

"The abrupt purge of the Russian Air Force may reflect the service’s unreliability, its poor performance and continued inability to take control of Ukraine airspace..."

"Russia’s helicopter fleet is taking a steady beating, and given battlefield attrition, Moscow parade planners expected to use no more than 15 helicopters, a humiliating reduction from a big contingent of 23 choppers just a year ago."

"The story is no better for Russia’s fixed-wing aircraft. Sukhoi Su-30 Flankers and Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers, facing heavy losses and high demand, were not going to be represented in the Red Square parade, either."

"Instead, the Moscow parade was set to celebrate Russia’s creaky fleet of Mikoyan Mig-29 fighter jets. After showing 4 Mig-29s in previous victory parades, Russia was set to use 16 Mig-29s, sending the older fighters out to conduct a “Z” pattern fly-by."

"Outside of the “Z” formation flight, the show’s central—and most provocative—attraction was originally to be filled by the Ilyushin IL-80 “Maxdome” command and control aircraft, a “doomsday” plane that ensures Russian leaders remain in contact with their nuclear arsenal during a war. But with only three copies still flying, the 35-year-old derivation of the IL-86 passenger aircraft had little backup in the event the designated parade aircraft broke down."

"Had the parade gone forward without the “doomsday” headliner, the aircraft’s absence would have been widely noted and widely discussed. Some might seize on the idea that Russia was ramping down their dangerous rhetoric about nuclear war—something that Putting may not want. Alternatively, the aircraft’s abrupt disappearance might suggest that Russia’s vaunted strategic forces are in disarray. Putin’s hold on power may turn on the respect others offer to Russia’s strategic warfighters, and a demonstration of unreliability may have been too much to bear. Shutting the entire parade down over “weather” concerns may have been far easier an option."

.:.. under less-than-perfect conditions, if the war is sucking away Russia’s best pilots, the second stringers on parade fly-over duty may not have been quite ready to strut their ragged gear and skills before a global audience."

"Fuel may have been a problem too. Mig-29s are notorious gas-guzzlers. ..."

"The Real Storm Clouds: Moscow’s Security Fears"

?...parades are dangerous places for unstable and contested regimes. In 1981, Egypt’s president, Anwar Sadat, celebrating Egypt’s successful attack on the Suez Canal, was shot and killed in the midst of the military pageantry. "
...
"While threats on the ground can be managed by trusted security forces, aircraft are kinetic instruments, piloted by individuals. The cockpit is one of the few places where Russian security agents are absent. An individual pilot with a grudge, at the controls of a high-performance jet, could easily take matters into his own hands, plowing the aircraft into the big, easily identified reviewing stand before anybody could react. And Putin, surrounded by aging veterans, would be an unmissable target."

"With rumors of intergovernmental tension and increasing insubordination in the mid-level officer corps, the abrupt cut of Russia’s Air Force fly-over—despite several successful practice-runs under far worse weather—is notable. At a minimum, the sudden ceremonial purge of Russia’s Air Force suggests that the Russian Air Force is unreliable operationally, and, potentially, politically."

General Background:

The most important parade of those being held on May 9 is the one held on Moscow's Red Square, with the President of Russia as the guest of honor and keynote speaker in virtue of his constitutional mandate as Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces. The parade is a commemoration of the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Red Army, marking the end of the Eastern Front of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War.

According to anthropologist Sergey Ushakin, modern victory parades are intended to demonstrate the direct and immediate connection of the present with the past and to materialize the connection between generations.[1] Long time parade commander Oleg Salyukov described them as a "celebration for people, not show of militarism" referring to accusations of the parade being used as show of Russian military might.- Wikipedia