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Russia is unable to deploy combat jets over Ukraine – and would suffer “unsustainable aircraft losses” if it tried, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said.
The MoD’s latest analysis, shared on Twitter this morning, says the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) continued to deploy roughly the same number of aircraft in support of the Ukraine operation as they have for many months.
Russian sortie rates have increased over the last week, after several weeks of quieter activity, with air activity largely in line with the average daily rate seen since summer 2022.
However, the bulletin continued: “Overall, Russian air power continues to significantly underperform in the war, constrained by a continued high threat from Ukrainian air defences and dispersed basing due to the threat of strikes against Russian airfields.
“Russian combat jets operate almost exclusively over Russian-held territory, preventing them from carrying out their key strike role effectively.
“Across Russia, the VKS likely maintains a largely intact fleet of approximately 1,500 crewed military aircraft, despite losing over 130 since the start of the invasion.
“However, it is unlikely that the VKS is currently preparing for a dramatically expanded air campaign as under the current battlefield circumstances it would likely suffer unsustainable aircraft losses.”
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