Quote:
Originally Posted by Commander Wallace
Thanks for the Information, Bilge Rat. It's hard to get an accurate picture of the happenings in the Ukraine. It seems both Russia and the Ukraine are using a strategy of " air denial." The environment there is too dangerous for aircraft from either side with regards to SAM missiles. Most Russian aircraft appear to be deploying long range Air to Surface missile against Ukraine well within the own borders. I think it's for this reason it was felt that F-16 fighters given to the Ukraine would have a limited utility unless they themselves deployed long range weapons outside of contested areas where it is relatively safe.
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Tom Cooper, whose blog I linked to above, is a military aviation expert. He has been providing a running commentary on the air war over Ukraine.
In a nutshell, both sides have massive SAM defences on their sides of the front lines. Any plane which tries to cross the front lines will likely be shot down. so yes, RUS AC will launch from their own sides. We all hear about the strikes on UKR civilian targets, but vast majority of bombs are dropped on UKR troops in the front lines. By launching from high altitude and using "lofting" (i.e. dive toss), RUS AC can launch dumb bombs up to 70 km away.
This of course is a big problem for UKR since they do not have air superiority over their own frontlines which is limiting their offensive operations. They would need to move their SAM defences forward, but SAM sites are very vulnerable and of course, UKR SAM sites are high priority targets for RUS.
on the F16, yes, the planes themselves are not as important as what weapons they will carry.