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64-668: The Sukhoi Design Bureau started research on thrust vectoring in 1983, when the Soviet government tasked the bureau with the separate development of the Su-27M. At the insistence of General Director Mikhail Simonov , who had been the chief designer of the Su-27, Sukhoi and the Siberian Aeronautical Research Institute studied axisymmetrical vectoring nozzles. This was in contrast to the focus on two-dimensional nozzles prevailing in

128-723: A 15-year unilateral suspension due to fuel costs and other economic difficulties after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Patrols towards the North Pole , the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean were reinstated, bringing the planes often close to NATO territory, including in one instance flying over the Irish Sea between the United Kingdom and Ireland . During the 2008 South Ossetian War ,

192-482: A Reserves and Cadres Training Command (Samara, under Colonel-General Leonid Stepanyuk) were to be established. But little more was heard of these commands. During the 1990s, the financial stringency was felt throughout the armed forces made its mark on the VVS as well. Pilots and other personnel could sometimes not get their wages for months, and on occasion resorted to desperate measures: four MiG-31 pilots at Yelizovo in

256-567: A Russian airbase on fire in the Millerovo air base attack . On 13 March 2022, Russian forces launched cruise missile attacks on Yavoriv military base near the Polish border. As of 20 March 2022, it was claimed that VVS carried out at least 1403 airstrikes on Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion. The VVS has generally been noted by its relative absence from the invasion and has as of 25 March 2022 failed to subdue Ukrainian air defenses or

320-673: A Russian or Belarusian Air Force or Air Defence Force senior commander. In July 2010, Russian jet fighters made the first nonstop flights from European Russia to the Russian Far East. By August 2010, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the VVS Alexander Zelin , the average flight hours of a pilot in Russian tactical aviation had reached 80 hours a year, while in army aviation and military transport aviation, it exceeded 100 hours

384-500: A former Air Defence Forces officer and new commander-in-chief of the merged force succeeding Deynekin, reported to the Russian defense minister that the task had 'in principle been achieved'. General Kornukov established the new headquarters of the force in Zarya, near Balashikha , 20 km east of the center of Moscow, in the former PVO central command post, where the CIS common air defense system

448-501: A new jurisdiction. The redistribution of forces affected 95% of aircraft, 98% of helicopters, 93% of anti-aircraft missile complexes, 95% of the equipment of radiotechnical troops , 100% of anti-aircraft missiles and over 60% of aviation armament. More than 600,000 tons of material changed location and 3,500 aircraft changed airfields. Military Transport Aviation planes took more than 40,000 families to new residence areas. The short-lived operational commands were abolished. Two air armies,

512-569: A political resolution to the rebellion was announced. The U.K. Defense Intelligence reported that the Il-22M was a particularly high value asset, being one in a fleet of only 12 special mission aircraft, and that its loss could have an impact on the ongoing invasion of Ukraine . Previously the highest military office until 1 August 2015. Since the merger between the VVS and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces on 1 August 2015,

576-630: A precise ammunition. UMPK bomb kits are being particularly used with general purpose FAB-250 , FAB-500 and FAB-1500 aerial bombs containing highly explosive warheads. These glide kits greatly increase range and also add an element of guidance, allowing Russian bombers, namely the Su-34 , to execute aerial attacks from safer distances without entering areas covered by Ukrainian air defense systems. According to Ukrainian General Ivan Havryliuk, since start of 2024 year, Russian aviation dropped over 3,500 of these bombs on Ukrainian positions. On 23 - 24 June 2023

640-567: A year. On 15 August 2010, the Russian Air Force temporarily grounded its fleet of Su-25 ground attack aircraft to investigate a crash that happened during a training mission. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the plane crashed on 6 August 2010, 60  km to the north-west of Step air base in Siberia , according to RIA Novosti . According to the instructions of the General Staff of

704-618: Is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces , the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces . After the dissolution of the Soviet Union , the reborn Russian armed forces began to be created on 7 May 1992 following Boris Yeltsin 's creation of the Ministry of Defence . However, the Russian Federation's air force can trace its lineage and traditions back to

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768-764: Is directed from. In December 2003 the aviation assets of the Russian Ground Forces —mostly helicopters—were transferred to the VVS, following the shooting down of a Mi-26 helicopter in Chechnya on 19 August 2002 that claimed 19 lives. The former Army Aviation was in its previous form intended for the direct support of the Ground Forces, by providing their tactical air support, conducting tactical aerial reconnaissance, transporting airborne troops, providing fire support of their actions, electronic warfare , setting of minefield barriers and other tasks. The former Army Aviation

832-740: The 37th Air Army (long-range aviation) and the 61st Air Army (former Military Transport Aviation ), were established directly under the Supreme Command. The former frontal aviation and anti-aircraft forces were organized as Air Force Armies and Anti-Aircraft Defense Armies under the military district commanders. There were initially four such armies with headquarters in St.Petersburg ( Leningrad Military District ), Rostov-on-Don ( North Caucasus Military District ), Khabarovsk ( Far East Military District ), and Chita ( Siberian Military District ). Two military districts had separate Air and Air Defence Corps. When

896-881: The Cold War , the Soviet Air Force was a pivotal part of the USSR ’s military strategy, with long-range bombers like the Tu-95 and advanced fighters such as the MiG-21 and Su-27 becoming iconic symbols of Soviet air power. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union into its fifteen constituent republics in December 1991, the aircraft and personnel of the Soviet Air Forces —the VVS —were divided among

960-761: The Defence of Moscow , helping to turn the tide against Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front . Soviet pilots flew legendary aircraft like the Yakovlev Yak-3 and Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik , which were crucial in gaining air superiority. After the war, the Soviet Air Force focused on modernising its fleet, developing jet fighters like the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 , which became famous during the Korean War . Throughout

1024-560: The Farnborough Airshow in September 1996. Piloted by Frolov, the aircraft pitched up 180 degrees and maintained the tail-first position momentarily, which would theoretically allow the aircraft to fire a missile at a combat opponent. The Super Cobra evolved into the kulbit (somersault), in which the Su-37 performed a 360-degree loop with an extremely tight turning radius the length of

1088-557: The Imperial Russian Air Service (1912–1917) and the Soviet Air Forces (1918–1991). The Russian Air Force, officially established on August 12, 1912, as part of the Imperial Russian Air Service , has a long and complex history. It began as one of the earliest military aviation units globally, although its early years saw slow development due to the constraints of World War I . After the Russian Revolution of 1917 ,

1152-478: The Joint CIS Air Defense System was to be set up by Russia and Belarus . This network was intended to protect the airspace of the two countries as defined in the supranational 1999 Union State treaty. Its planned composition was to include five Air Force units, 10 anti-aircraft units, five technical service and support units, and one electronic warfare unit. It was to be placed under the command of

1216-615: The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces and the Air Defense Troops, were merged into a new branch of the armed forces, now officially called the Russian Aerospace Forces . On 30 September 2015, the VVS launched a military intervention in Syria , in Syria 's Homs region. On 24 November 2015, during a bombing mission, a Turkish Air Force F-16 shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 that Turkey claimed had violated its airspace. In March 2020,

1280-653: The Transbaikal Military District and Siberian Military District were merged, the 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army was formed to serve as the air force formation in the area. The number of servicemen in the Air Force was reduced to about 185,000 from the former combined number of 318,000. 123,500 positions were abolished, including almost 1,000 colonel positions. The resignation of 3000 other servicemen included 46 generals of which 15 were colonel generals. On 29 December 1998 Colonel General Anatoly Kornukov ,

1344-500: The Ukrainian Air Force . It has, as of April 1, 2022, also failed to achieve air supremacy . Failure to achieve this has been attributed to the lack of SEAD operations on the part of the VVS likely due to the lack of flying hours for Russian pilots as well as the lack of dedicated SEAD units and precision-guided munitions within the VVS. These weaknesses have been compounded by the mobility of Ukrainian air defenses with

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1408-540: The VVS including the terrain, lack of significant fixed targets, and insurgents armed with Stinger and Strela-2M surface-to-air missiles . The former Soviet Air Defence Forces remained independent for several years under Russian control, only merging with the Air Forces in 1998. The decree merging the two forces was issued by President Boris Yeltsin on 16 July 1997. During 1998 altogether 580 units and formations were disbanded, 134 reorganised, and over 600 were given

1472-546: The battle of Mariupol it struck a hospital as well as a theatre . Russian pilots in Ukraine are having to use civilian GPS units "taped to the dashboards". On 19 September US Air Force General James B. Hecker said that Russia had lost 55 military aircraft due to being shot down by Ukrainian air defenses since the start of the invasion. He credits this success to the Ukrainian use of SA-11 and SA-10 air defense systems. As

1536-656: The ceasefire agreement , Russian peacekeepers were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh with aviation to patrol its borders. Modernization plans and programs carried out since the 2010s are being continued into 2021 as a part of Russia's State Armament Program for 2018–2027. On 24 February 2022, the VVS was deployed in support of the invasion of Ukraine . The VVS had reportedly deployed about 300 combat aircraft within range of Ukraine. Aircraft have also been deployed in Belarus for sorties over Ukraine . On 25 February 2022, Ukrainian forces reportedly destroyed several aircraft and set

1600-472: The indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets by the VVS in Syria has been described as "amounting to war crime" by a United Nations Human Rights Council report. On 9 November 2020, a Russian Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down mistakenly by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war killing 2 crew members and injuring 1 more. Days later, after the signing of

1664-425: The pitch axis , together or differentially. Apart from the addition of thrust-vectoring nozzles, the Su-37 did not outwardly differ much from the canard-equipped Su-27M. Instead, engineers had focused on the aircraft's avionics. Unlike previous Su-27Ms, the Su-37 had a digital (as opposed to analogue) fly-by-wire flight control system , which was directly linked to the thrust-vectoring control system. Together with

1728-508: The 2,154 missiles fired by Russia hit their targets, such as the Zatoka bridge which sustained over eight air attacks before being disabled. The VVS reportedly flew over 20,000 sorties in the war, fewer than 3,000 of which entered Ukrainian airspace, possibly due to fear of Ukraine's sustained air defense. The VVS has struck civilian targets during the invasion prompting an International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine . Notably, during

1792-529: The 2012 training year. Pilots from the Kursk air base achieved an average of 150 hours, with transport aviation averaging 170 hours. In February 2014, during the early periods of Russia's annexation of Crimea , the assets of the VVS in the Southern Military District were activated and flown to the peninsula for supporting the rest of the operations. On 1 August 2015, the Russian Air Force, along with

1856-536: The Armed Forces on 1 September 2011, the unmanned aircraft of the VVS and the personnel operating them moved under the command structure of the Russian Ground Forces . As of 2012, the VVS operated a total of 61 air bases, including 26 air bases with tactical aircraft, of which 14 are equipped with fighter aircraft. In terms of flight hours, pilots in the Western Military District averaged 125 hours over

1920-503: The Chief of the General Staff, Nikolai Makarov said of the VVS that "They can run bombing missions only in the daytime with the sun shining, but they miss their targets anyway". Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov said that Russia's long-range bombers would be upgraded in 2009 to be able to hit within 20 meters of their targets. Also in September 2009, it was reported that an East European network of

1984-637: The Far East went on hunger strike in 1996 to demand back pay which was several months overdue, and the problem was only resolved by diverting unit money intended for other tasks. As a result of the cutbacks, infrastructure became degraded as well, and in 1998, 40% of military airfields needed repair. The VVS participated in the First Chechen War (1994–1996) and the Second Chechen War (1999–2002). These campaigns also presented significant difficulties for

Sukhoi Su-37 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2048-620: The Lyulka-Saturn AL-37FU to power the aircraft, the engine had not yet been flight-cleared. The aircraft was temporarily fitted with the less-powerful AL-31FP engine, essentially an AL-31F engine that had the AL-100 vectoring nozzles of the AL-37FU. The aircraft was rolled out in May. Two months later, the temporary engines were replaced with AL-37FUs; its nozzles could only deflect 15 degrees up or down in

2112-506: The Su-37's supermaneuverability as a result of thrust-vectoring controls became apparent. According to Simonov, such a feature would allow pilots to develop new combat manoeuvres and tactics, greatly enhancing its effectiveness in dogfights. Among the new manoeuvres was the Super Cobra, which was a variation of the Pugachev's Cobra and was demonstrated during the aircraft's international debut at

2176-468: The US doesn't have these systems getting new missiles from European allies is a "big ask" from Kyiv . Russian airplanes increased their operations due to the September 2022 Ukrainian Kharkiv Oblast counteroffensive . This was due to several factors including changing front lines, former safe territory is now held by the enemy. Or because they were under pressure to provide closer ground support. On 8 October 2022

2240-460: The VVS suffered losses of between four and seven aircraft due to Georgian anti-aircraft fire. The 2008 Russian military reforms were promptly announced following the war, which according to Western experts were intended to address many inadequacies discovered as a result. The reforms commenced in early 2009, in which air armies were succeeded by commands, and most air regiments became air bases. Aviation Week & Space Technology confirmed that

2304-578: The West. Lyulka (later Lyulka-Saturn ) also began studies of thrust-vectoring engines in 1985. By the late 1980s, Sukhoi were evaluating their research using its flying test beds. During test flights of the Su-27Ms, which began in 1988, engineers discovered that pilots failed to maintain active control of the aircraft at high angles of attack due to the ineffectiveness of flight control surfaces at low speeds. Engineers therefore installed thrust-vectoring engines to

2368-586: The air service was reorganised under the Soviet regime, evolving into the Red Air Fleet in 1918, which later became part of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS). During the interwar period, the Soviet Union made significant advancements in aviation technology and pilot training. By World War II , the Soviet Air Forces had grown substantially and played a crucial role in key battles, such as the Battle of Stalingrad and

2432-516: The aircraft with simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground capability. The radar was capable of tracking twenty aerial targets and directing missiles toward eight of them simultaneously; in comparison, the Su-27M's baseline N011 could only track fifteen aerial targets and engage six of them simultaneously. The aircraft retained from the Su-27M the N012 self-defence radar located in the rearward-projecting tail boom. Considerable improvement had also been made to

2496-402: The aircraft's overall high thrust-to-weight ratio and the engine's full authority digital engine control feature, the integrated propulsion and flight control systems added maneuverability at high angles of attack and low speeds. The aircraft's weapons-control system had also been improved, as it included an N011M Bars (literally "Panther") pulse-Doppler phased-array radar that provided

2560-415: The aircraft's port Tailplane broke off during a high-g manoeuvre, leading to it crashing at Shatura , near Moscow. The structural failure was caused by repeated exceeding of the aircraft's design load during six years of testing. The pilot Yuri Vashuk ejected safely. Despite the entry of the Su-37 into Brazilian and South Korean fighter tenders , the aircraft failed to gain any foreign customers. India in

2624-447: The aircraft. According to test pilot Anatoly Kvochur , thrust vectoring would have given the aircraft a considerable advantage in close-in dogfights . Nonetheless, critics have questioned the practical benefits of such manoeuvres; although they would allow an early missile lock-on , it would come at the expense of a rapid loss of kinetic energy , which would leave the aircraft vulnerable when pilots missed their first shot. The aircraft

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2688-705: The chief of the VVS Sergey Surovikin became the commander of all Russian forces invading Ukraine. On 10 October 2022 the VVS re-commenced the bombardment of cities like Kyiv and especially energy infrastructure like electricity grid facilities. The large-scale coordinated attacks also hit Kharkiv , Kryvyi Rih , Lviv , Dnipro , Ternopil , Kremenchuk , Khmelnytskyi , and Zhytomyr . The oblasts of Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Zhytormyr, Kirovohrad were attacked on this day. When, by 17 October, these energy infrastructure attacks continued unabated

2752-420: The cockpit layout. In addition to the head-up display , the Su-37 had four Sextant Avionique multi-function colour liquid crystal displays arranged in a "T" configuration; they had better backlight protection than the Su-27M's monochrome cathode-ray tube displays. The displays presented to the pilot information about navigation, systems status, and weapons selection. The pilot sat on an ejection seat that

2816-524: The commander of the VVS as part of the new Russian Aerospace Forces is titled Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Commander of the VVS. Lieutenant General Andrey Yudin became the first holder of the position until he was succeeded by Lieutenant General Sergey Dronov in August 2019. In 2009 the structure of the VVS was completely changed to a command-air base structure from

2880-506: The destroyed Mi-8s as well as the damaged one were Russia's newest Mi-8MTPR-1 Electronic Warfare variants. Up to 29 crew were killed, assuming the aircraft were fully manned, but the VVS has not released casualties. Wagner lost at least five vehicles during hostilities, but it is unclear how many can be attributed to VVS actions. Reports indicated that the Russian Armed Forces were failing to stop Wagner's momentum toward Moscow when

2944-509: The eleventh Su-27 (factory code T10M-11), which had been built by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association in the country's Far East and was being used as a radar test bed. Following the airframe's completion in early 1995, the aircraft was delivered to the design bureau's experimental plant near Moscow, where engineers started installing the nozzles on the aircraft. Although Sukhoi had intended

3008-539: The expiration of the engines' service lives, the aircraft had the AL-37FUs replaced with standard production AL-31F engines which lacked movable nozzles. The loss of thrust vectoring was partially mitigated by an update to the fly-by-wire flight control system. The aircraft's foreign avionics were also replaced with indigenous designs. It resumed test flights in October 2000. The flight-test programme ended on 19 December 2002 when

3072-494: The extensive use of MANPADS as well as NATO reportedly sharing early warning information with Ukrainian forces. According to the Ukrainian MoD, as of 16 March 2022, the VVS has also suffered at least 77 aircraft losses, however only 12 were verified by independent sources at the time. In the first six months of the campaign, Russia's air war was largely a failure. An American intelligence analyst said that less than 40% of

3136-520: The first five flights. Due to the lack of funding from the Russian Air Force , Sukhoi was compelled to finance the project with its own funds; according to Simonov, the company channelled revenue from the exports of the Su-27s to China and Vietnam towards the project. The aircraft was publicly unveiled at Zhukovsky later in the year, and was redesignated Su-37. During the subsequent flight-test programme,

3200-650: The flight hours of the United States Air Force . The 2007 edition of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Military Balance listed pilots of tactical aviation flying 20–25 hours a year, 61st Air Army pilots (former Military Transport Aviation), 60 hours a year, and Army Aviation under VVS control 55 hours a year. In 2007 the VVS resumed the Soviet-era practice of deploying its strategic bomber aircraft on long-range patrols. This ended

3264-438: The forces of central subordination are as of approximately August 2008. Warfare.ru maintains what appears to be a reasonably up-to-date listing, and Combat Aircraft magazine in June 2010 listed their organization's estimate of the new order of battle. This listing appears to be as of June 2009 : Russian Air Force flights often use a callsign beginning with RFF: For example RFF1234. Helicopter regiments providing support to

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3328-401: The mid-1990s funded the development of what would result in the Su-30MKI , which is a two-seat fighter design that incorporated the canards, N011M radar and thrust-vectoring technology that were present and evaluated on the Su-37. In addition, through tests of the Su-27M and the Su-37, engineers had determined that thrust vectoring could compensate for the loss of manoeuvrability brought about by

3392-516: The newly independent states. General Pyotr Deynekin , the former deputy commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Forces, became the first commander of the new organization on 24 August 1991. Russia received the majority of the most modern fighters and 65% of the manpower. The major commands of the former Soviet VVS—the Long-Range Aviation , Military Transport Aviation , and Frontal Aviation were renamed, with few changes, Russian VVS commands. However, many regiments, aircraft, and personnel were claimed by

3456-418: The previous structure of air army-air division or corps- air regiment . The VVS was divided into four operational commands, the Aerospace Defense Operational Strategic Command (seemingly primarily made up of the former Special Purpose Command ), the Military Transport Aviation Command, and the Long-Range Aviation Command. This listing is a composite; the available new information covers frontline forces, and

3520-516: The removal of canards, the design of which imposed a weight penalty on the airframe. The modernized Su-35, without canards, made its first flight in February 2008. Data from Gordon, Novichkov General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Mikhail Simonov Mikhail Petrovich Simonov ( Russian : Михаи́л Петро́вич Си́монов ; 19 October 1929 – 4 March 2011)

3584-429: The reorganization would be completed by December 2009 and would see a 40 percent reduction in aircrew numbers. In February 2009, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that 200 of the 291 MiG-29s currently in service across all Russian air arms were unsafe and would have to be permanently grounded. This action would remove from service about a third of Russia's total fighter force, some 650 aircraft. On 5 June 2009,

3648-438: The republics they were based in, forming the core of the new republics' air forces. Some aircraft in Belarus and Ukraine (such as Tupolev Tu-160s ) were returned to Russia, sometimes in return for debt reductions, as well as the 79th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division at Chagan in Kazakhstan . In 1993 and 1994 Deynekin announced that a Frontal Aviation Command (Moscow, under General-lieutenant of Aviation Nikolay Antoshkin) and

3712-516: The state-funded private military company Wagner Group rebelled against the Russian government citing increased tensions with Ministry of Defence leaders. With the majority of Russian ground forces already committed in the invasion of Ukraine , the VVS was a primary component of the Russian military response to the rebellion. During the conflict, the VVS lost one Il-22M Airborne Command Post and five helicopters (three Mi-8 , one Mi-35M , and one KA-52 ) as well as one damaged Mi-8 . Two of

3776-497: The western media labeled the delivery system "kamikaze drones", and Ukrainian president Zelensky called this "terrorizing the civilian population". By 23 October (not yet two weeks) 40% of Ukrainians were without electricity and/or water. Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian infrastructure again intensified with the deployment of the UMPK (unified gliding and correction module) bomb kits since early 2023, which allowed to Russian Air Force convert dummy Soviet-era aerial bombs into

3840-425: Was a Russian aircraft designer famed for creating the Sukhoi Su-27 fighter-bomber, the Soviet Union's answer to the American F-15 Eagle . After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Simonov coordinated the Su-27's sale to foreign governments, providing badly needed hard currency to the Russian government. In recognition of his achievements, he was named a Hero of the Russian Federation in 1999. Simonov

3904-520: Was born 19 October 1929 in Rostov-on-Don . He became an aviation engineer in the 1950s and joined Sukhoi as a deputy chief designer in 1970. In his time at Sukhoi, he developed the Sukhoi Su-24 bomber and the Sukhoi Su-25 ground-attack airplane, as well as the Su-27. He was the Soviet Union's deputy minister of aircraft industries from 1979 to 1983. Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force (Russian: Военно-воздушные силы России , romanized : Voenno-vozdushnye sily Rossii , VVS )

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3968-409: Was demonstrated at the Paris Air Show in 1997. Although it was only able to perform on the last day of the show, the organisers recognised the Su-37 as the standout performer at the event. The aircraft thereafter participated in the MAKS air show in Moscow, the International Defence Exhibition in Dubai, and the FIDAE air show in Santiago , Chile, as authorities sought to export the aircraft. With

4032-409: Was reclined to 30 degrees to improve g-force tolerance. Painted in a disruptive sand and brown scheme, the aircraft was given the code 711 Blue , later changed to 711 White . Following ground checks at the Gromov Flight Research Institute , the aircraft made its maiden flight on 2 April 1996 from Zhukovsky Airfield outside Moscow, piloted by Yevgeni Frolov . The nozzles were fixed during

4096-425: Was subsequently managed by the Chief of the Department of Army Aviation. In 2010, it was announced that the 2003 decision to transfer Ground Force Aviation to the Air Force was reversed, with the transfer back to the Ground Forces to occur sometime in 2015 or 2016. During the 2000s, the Air Force continued to suffer from a lack of resources for pilot training. In the 1990s Russian pilots achieved approximately 10% of

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