Why Russia is Running out of Airplanes

Airpower should have been Putin’s biggest advantage in Ukraine.

When Putin’s invasion began in February of 2022, most experts assumed that Russia’s praised air force would be able to quickly take down Ukrainian air defenses, and gain a decisive early advantage in the conflict.

But these predictions proved to be completely wrong.

In more than a year of war, Russia has utterly failed to establish air superiority, while managing to lose staggering quantities of its jets and other assets. In fact, the situation is so bad that earlier this month, one pro-Russian blogger on Telegram stated that the country’s air force has engaged in “complete idiocy” and is “detached from reality.”

Definitely not a good look for Putin.

Watch this video to hear what our military experts have to say about Russia’s colossal embarassment.

#themilitaryshow

[tony]

To attack Ukraine has become the greatest blunder Russia has ever done and it will haunt them for decades.

[dracon]

Let's make it clear that combined arms warfare is difficult to almost impossible for most countries to accomplish. The USA made it seem so easy in Iraq that everyone thinks they can do it.

[hardtackbeans]

If God had meant for russians to fly, he would have put them in tank turrets. 😁

[frederickd.provoncha]

funny thing, many years ago when I was in college at the start of the Gulf War in 1991 (Okay that dates me), a guy I knew tried to convince me that the U.S. was going to lose that war. He said the Iraqi army would cripple our air force and prevent us from achieving air superiority by using MANPADS. I tried to explain that the Iraqi army was positioned out in the desert, where there was no cover, no place to hide. Their infantry were sitting ducks. He was somehow thinking that that war was going to go down like the Vietnam War did, but in that war the Viet Cong were hiding in the jungle, not sitting out in an open desert. He remained unconvinced. He then said, "If you support the war so much, then why don't you enlist?" I replied, "Because it won't make any difference. The war will be over before I finish Basic Training". He laughed, thinking that was absurd. I turned out to be exactly right. The war was over in about 2 months.

Now in Ukraine, there are enough trees and other things that infantry using MANPADS could use for cover, so they have been more effective against Russia's air force. But it just goes to show that topography and geography have a great effect on what weapons and tactics will be effective in a given conflict. What worked in one conflict may not work in another.

[SG-jsqn]

Bottom line: basic morality in a society can lead to successful operations, and lack of basic morality, especially in the upper levels of society, can break a nation.

[MQuinn-ebzz]

One of my favorite historical books is 'The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers', by Paul Kennedy. Basically he posits that Great Powers rise because of a combination of economic/manufacturing superiority that supports the military and falls when the economic/manufacturing capability is left to languish but the military remains capability remains large... Then the Great Power gets into a war that lasts longer than predicted and its economic/manufacturing capability can no longer sustain the military needs. This is Russia's problem in a nut shell; as such, it is doomed.

[MrGrombie]

Russia is also giving Jets to the coup military in Myanmar.

Not many people covering the Ukraine war point that out.

[alphabetsoup]

Probably good to mention that Russia is also down to roughly 1, 100 artillery systems, less than 1/4th of what they had before their invasion of Ukraine. Currently losing 20-30 per day. And given how heavily the Russian military doctrine relies on artillery... Yep, expect it to go from incredibly costly to unimaginably costly for Russia.

[johnhough]

To "The Military Show" ... a vote of appreciation from me in the UK.
As an Englishman I respect and admire true sportsmanship on the few occasions I happen across it—
— and your unbiassed breakdown and analyses of Russia's activities and their results are informative.
I just hope that others appreciate your efforts too ...

[JimTimber]

puketin is running low on everything.. height, hair and popularity

[Spaceballz]

LOL Russia doesn't need planes. Their tank turrets can fly higher 🤣

[altond]

I think that the Russians didn`t think anyone would challenge them so they felt free to scavenge some of the money appropriated for air defense for important things like yachts and other good stuff. But they hadn`t counted on Putin attacking other countries.

[matthewhuszarik]

The West needs to give Ukraine all the surface to air capabilities they can handle. Every fighter they down is one that cannot be used against the rest of us.

[crawkn]

You don't get to be a military pilot even in Russia, without being fairly well educated and educable, and most such people are going to know that their mission is BS and chances of victory slim, and want to risk as little as possible. Add to that lack of motivation some likelihood that they are drunk or hungover, and their equipment poorly maintained, and you're left with an expectation of pretty poor performance.

[namoi]

I remember that the media were telling people that Russia had run out of missiles.
I still see them pounding the Ukrainian army every day.

[tomaddie]

It's glaringly apparent that those Russian pilots know the deadly fate they are encountering in Ukrainian skies and so are backing off as soon as they can.
Also (and it is highly probable and since many of these aircrew are perhaps more 'Westernized' than Putin would like or want), that they do not want to be a part of this madness which is causing so much suffering to all, Ukrainians and Russians alike.

[BaeBunni]

probably the funniest part about this, putin gets sanctions on the country and blames the minister of trade. "Why couldn't you obtain the parts just because I'm one that stopped them from coming it." Gotta love how literally medieval the thought process is.

[keelynfoster-williamson]

After this war is lost by Russia I can’t imagine how vulnerable they will feel after having used the weaponry they would need to protect their own territory if war came to their doorstep.

[richardstatham]

Another variable not mentioned is how the apparent failure rate of Russian Air-to-Air missiles also had an effect on the early days of the war and is still now an issue.
The incident with the British RC-135 Rivet Joint last september was an example of this as only the malfuction of the russian missile prevented potentially shooting down a strategic asset of a NATO member

[Shadowsuit]

They ran out of everything, about 2years ago... Missiles about 1year ago, its always an embarrassment of whatever reasons they can find. It just dumb, really to always undermine your enemy you make it look weaker then it is.