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Written by Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst
Since the start of the special military operation (SMO), Russian air superiority over Ukraine has been unquestionable. The Kiev regime forces lost most of their aircraft on the ground as Russian long-range cruise missiles rained down, leveling airbases and destroying deployed fighter jets. This forced the Neo-Nazi junta to not only restore retired Soviet-era aircraft, but also to acquire those that previously belonged to former Warsaw Pact member states. As all of these countries are now in NATO, their fighter jets were deemed particularly important, as they were repurposed to use NATO weapons, both air-to-air and air-to-ground, including anti-radiation missiles such as the AGM-88 HARM and air-launched cruise missiles such as the Franco-British “Storm Shadow/SCALP EG”.
In order to successfully use these weapons, Ukrainian pilots are forced to fly extremely low to avoid detection by Russia’s second-to-none long-range air defenses and unrivaled air superiority fighter jets. As Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) employ monster aircraft such as the superfast, high-flying MiG-31 interceptors, state-of-the-art Su-35S and the next-generation Su-57 multirole fighter jets, the chances for Kiev regime’s air assets to survive at altitudes of over 1000 meters are virtually nonexistent. Apart from their clear advantages in technology, pilot training and logistics, Russian fighters also use air-to-air missiles that are quite literally decades ahead of not just those used by the Neo-Nazi junta, but also by its NATO overlords. However, this upper hand became even greater in recent days.
According to Russian sources, the S-400 “Triumph” SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems are now being used in coordination with the Beriev A-50/A-50U AEW&C (airborne early warning and control) aircraft to shoot down the Kiev regime’s combat jets. Apparently, the fusion of advanced sensors on both systems works so perfectly that it effectively contributed to the downing of 24 enemy aircraft in a matter of just five days. And while the conclusive data for the claims is yet to be released, there’s little to no reason to doubt the reports, as both the Neo-Nazi junta and its NATO puppet masters are in the not-so-quiet panic mode. Namely, according to Colonel Yurii Ihnat, one of the Kiev regime forces’ spokespeople, they will need approximately 150 F-16s or similar Western jets to “counter” the VKS.
This is a massive jump from earlier requests. The Neo-Nazi junta frontman Volodymyr Zelensky also made similar pleas more recently, indicating that major problems for his forces even predate the latest Russian reports. Various military sources and observers also posted videos of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu talking with servicemen who accomplished the aforementioned feats, which further reinforces the veracity of these reports. Some analysts are even adding that the greater interaction and sensor fusion of various platforms now also includes Russian fighter jets such as the Su-35S and Su-57. These are also armed with new deadly air-to-air missiles that the Kiev regime forces have quite a lot of trouble to even detect, resulting in high casualties among Ukrainian pilots.
Namely, the S-400–A-50 teams are organized in a way that allows battlefield information to be directly transmitted between the platforms so that the enemy fighter jets and/or other aircraft essentially can’t even detect the incoming missiles. Normally, hostile aircraft’s Radar Warning Receivers (RWR) simply detect they’re being tracked and/or targeted by the S-400’s sophisticated surveillance and tracking radars that emit powerful frequencies. This prevents the possibility of using the S-400’s longest-range missiles such as the 40N6E (maximum range 400 km) or the hypersonic 48N6 (depending on the variant, maximum range up to 250 km), as the enemy fighter jet is more likely to evade the incoming SAM at such extreme distances. In addition, this also exposes the S-400 to NATO spy aircraft.
Namely, NATO ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) platforms keep flying around Russian and Belarussian airspace and gathering intel on the capabilities of their air defenses and other assets. It would simply be impossible for the S-400’s tracking radar to operate in the so-called “war reserve” mode (conceals features such as pulse width which the enemy uses to analyze its radar signature) without revealing its radar-gathering frequencies, particularly while trying to engage targets at the longest possible ranges. And while this denies NATO the ability to analyze Russian air defenses and possibly devise advanced countermeasures that could undermine Moscow’s security in the long term, it was precisely because of it that the Eurasian giant was unable to use the full potential of its air defenses.
Thus, the Russian military had to find unconventional and innovative workarounds, leading to the S-400–A-50 teaming, with the latter using its advanced radars and sensors to cue the 40N6E missiles which are fired in the so-called “lock on after launch” mode. The A-50/A-50U provides guidance and targeting data that are then received in the mid-course phase and stored in the 40N6E’s navigation system. The Russian side refuses to disclose the exact information for purely practical reasons, as this could then be used to determine the location of its air defense batteries. In addition, not revealing too much info on this pairing enables the continued targeting of the Kiev regime’s aircraft at the longest possible ranges, even when they’re flying extremely low to avoid detection by Russian fighter aircraft.
However, even this is becoming a major issue now, as interceptors and air superiority jets such as the MiG-31BM, Su-30SM, Su-35S and/or Su-57 could most likely be used in similar ways. What’s more, these jets can use missiles such as the R-37M and variants of R-77 that have maximum ranges of up to 400 km and 200 km, respectively. The former is particularly dangerous as it effectively turns its launch platform into a “flying S-400”, while the latter is smaller, meaning that a fighter can carry more of them and, thus, shoot down half a squadron of enemy jets in a single sortie at ranges far beyond the reach of the Neo-Nazi junta’s air defenses. These developments only reinforce the findings of some Western military think tanks that acknowledge the performance of the VKS.
and yet, ukraine still has an air force.
you volunteering to fly for them? slava bandera?
no for long idiot, ask the ukronazi navy how they like their rented jet skis. see a pattern yet?
just barely. what’s your point?
my point is that 2 years in they still have an air force. i don’t think my post was particularly ambiguous.
>you volunteering to fly for them? slava bandera?
no but i did volunteer to provide the russians with mavic drones worth 40k usd in the early days of the conflict. what did you do except type retarded shit on online boards?
a mini airforce you mean….in poland
except they have jets stationed 70km away from the front lines. they’ve never been hit except the incidental lancet operator that destroyed 2 of them. he too was confused why nobody else ever bothered to take them out cuz they’re just standing there, out in the open.
ununterbrochen ziehen die kondensstreifen richtung prag am heutigen klaren himmel, fracht für den clown!
how is it possible that the nato and yankee spyplanes can stil be in the air and take part off the game ??? shoot them down !!! send killer drones against them; accidents can happen, yankee disturb the controls and drone hit there spyplane. game over yankee.
for that one needs courage, something which is badly lacking.
yes and political will seems to be lacking. russia needs to be careful not be seen as “weak” and “unreliable”or what they want to achieve- a multi-lateral world is not going to be achieved
you are in your own disconnected world. russian soldiers not even are registrated as dead. pution has cut the wires to god and satan as well.
you should let women take over. they are not tiny machos desperat trying to be above lgbs, which do no harm.
your #week# is an internal russian thing. when russia need to arrest a ukranian singer just like that, you show your low well well.
the article show it well. you are only told everything russia provide its the best. last week the many f16s were talked down i comment after comment.
we in west are always sitting ducks not as clever as you.
you only trick yourself or are tricked.
the awacs are in international air. if your kind attack there, you finally will meet nato with many tricker fingers.
and the point of this latest military expo sales pitch is what, exactly? if rf have all this monster tech then why are donb, crim, zapo, khers etc still being hit by ukranato? why hasn’t the rf cleared the usa and its lackeys out of syria? why is the usa unafraid of assisting the palastinian genocide when its hopeless hi-tech military ass was just roundly kicked by the lo-tech taliban?
it’s not the tools that build the cabinet, it’s the carpenter.
2)and russia can never throw usa out from there. many here also count usa as nato. the the rest of the nato cant be iat once.
one more fact. none here in nato wll ever let israel go away even there are very bad persons there.
should we support people from there? we already has several millions muslims here, where many and their children are minus. thye cant or wont go back too. thats not our fault.
3) i compare with libya, egupt,lebenon, palestine/westbank, iraq, turkey, iran, pakistan, indina a.s.o.
niger, tchat, mali, benin, sudan, eritrea, nigeria – a.s.o.
a last try from me. stay home. i dont dont like israel. they look and act more and more as arabs.
could a a-50u be paired with a flying s-400 missile carrier? (something like a tu-95 or tu-22m) for example?
“[ukraine] will need approximately 150 f-16s or similar western jets to “counter” the vks.” rather than “counter” did ihnat perhaps mean to say “provide targets for”?
you have no idea about that at all. yoiu can contact unicef for help.
i see no panic mode.
more or less a selfie artickle from the skinny five legged bear. i think: only vodka for the cars.