Monday morning when a line of armored cars and soldiers parades Moscow Celebration of Russia’s 1945 victory In Germany during World War II, one element of Russia’s military power, the fighter aircraft, was significantly missing.And officials Blame bad weather for their groundingRussian planes, pilots and air-to-ground weapons are all significantly inferior in the war with Ukraine.
Emphasizing that President Vladimir Putin was unable to build a capable modern air force as the Russian air force entered and exited Ukraine’s territory and dropped unguided bombs while escaping from enemy surface-to-air missiles that Moscow had not yet destroyed. bottom. After 75 days of battle.
A senior Pentagon official told reporters at a briefing on Monday that Russian fighters usually make 200 to 300 sorties daily, but they fly their own fighters to the Russian army. On the other hand, the superiority of air superiority fighters over Ukraine, which continues to attack jet aircraft, has not been established. And as the war continues into the third month, Russia is already consuming many of its most accurate weapons, including cruise missiles and short-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
On May 2, the Pentagon said Russia had launched more than 2,125 such weapons since the invasion began.Their use It fell sharply after the second week of the warBritish Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace said in a speech on Monday.
Russians have “blown away” many of their precision-guided munitions, said US officials who were not allowed to speak publicly about the details of Russia’s shortcomings. “In fact, they continue to attack Mariupol with many dam bombs.”
So-called dams, or unguided airdropped ammunition, are pre-9.11 relics of the United States and NATO, as Western troops have almost completely converted their weapons with a kit that guides bombs to targets with laser or GPS satellite signals. ..
Officials also said that sanctions and export restrictions established after Russia invaded Ukraine restricted Moscow’s access to the types of electronic components needed to manufacture guided weapons, thus modernizing Putin’s army. He said it affected his ability to replenish air ammunition.
The lack of Russian guided weapons, and their inaccuracies in use, more indicate how much the Moscow army lags behind the Western army.
U.S. Department of Defense officials who spoke with the New York Times in the background to discuss intelligence assessments and analysis of Russia’s failure in Ukraine show evidence seen during the invasion of Russia’s guided weapons program that pilots cannot. Missiles launched into Ukraine often miss the target, quickly finding and engaging with the ground target they said.
Officials said the Soviet Union was relatively uninterested in the development of traditional guided weapons until the mid-1980s, and Russia had been engaged in their serious research and development for the past two decades. Russia has demonstrated some of its new weapons in airstrikes in Syria since 2015, but only in limited numbers during tightly controlled operations and under very good conditions.
Instead of quickly targeting Ukrainian troops and mobile vehicles with laser or satellite-guided munitions, Russia fires unguided shells and rocket volleys to target fixed targets such as military installations and civilian densely populated areas. U.S. officials said by mainly showing that they can only attack, or by using large guided ballistic missiles and air-launched cruise missiles that often fail or are inaccurate.
Russian fighters continue to rely on unguided bombs, which are crude oil, even when compared to those manufactured by the United States shortly after World War II. The standard American Mark-80 series bombs used by NATO are easily reconfigurable for a variety of missions and have a forged steel body, while the corresponding Russian bombs are welded. One senior intelligence official said Russian designs preferred cheaper mass production over accuracy and much less pre-flight assembly. This makes these bombs a more attractive option for use by the relatively untrained Russian army.
The guided bombs used by Russia are limited to air-launched Kh-101 cruise missiles deployed from Tu-95 bears and Tu-160 blackjack bombers flying in the airspace of Russia and Belarus. Ground-launched short-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles such as Tochka and Iskander. A small number of Calibble cruise missiles were launched from warships at sea, according to one official.
Russia-Ukraine War: Significant Progress
Many of these missiles have only been launched in the last decade, according to reports from the Defense Intelligence Agency. By comparison, the Pentagon was testing the first widely deployed cruise missile called the Tomahawk. Late 1970s..
Since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, Russia’s reliance on unguided bombs for fighters in Ukrainian airspace has created confusion between government and civilian weapons analysts. Used to attack a hospital in Syria..
But the difference between Russia’s airstrikes in Syria and Ukraine is huge, said a senior Pentagon analyst. In Syria, Russian fighters were able to fly over targets without hostility before dropping guided bombs. This is not possible with Ukrainian jets and surface-to-air missiles.
Pentagon officials also say Russia’s targeting problem is exacerbated by the failure to properly invest in surveillance drones.Two unarmed Russian models-Forpost and Orlan-were observed while Ukraine was attacking Russian troops and vehicles. Missile launched by TB2 drone purchased from Turkey..
The issue has turned out to be one of the scales, US officials said. Russia was unable to support the needs of the country’s large-scale ground campaign with a handful of guided bombs used in certain parts of Syria. Ukraine. Russian cruise missiles launched at Ukrainian targets sometimes missed the target or failed altogether after launch, US officials said.
They added that Russian war planners were likely not able to properly develop so-called target packages. they.
“Syria has provided an opportunity to evaluate many of these new systems that Russians have developed for quite some time in real life,” a defense ministry official said in an interview. “But they weren’t forced to do big things, so trying to extend it to something like Ukraine really stresses the system and can highlight some issues there. There is sex. “
