Russian invasion of Ukraine

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nick_h.
Defence experts are puzzled by how few Russian combat aircraft are flying over Ukraine. Russia hasn't even attempted to gain air superiority. Possible explanations being floated are:
- shortage of precision guided munitions
- political approval not yet given to use unguided munitions instead (they would cause far more civilian deaths)
- poor inter-service coordination means Russian air force chiefs are not confident that their planes wouldn't be shot down by their own troops
- jet pilots only get about 100 hours of flying time per year, so they might not be confident about using the theoretical capabilities of recently acquired advanced aircraft
https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/mysterious-case-missing-russian-air-force
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/what-happened-russias-air-force-us-officials-experts-stumped-2022-03-01/?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email

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atz in reply to @nick_h.

poor inter-service coordination means Russian air force chiefs are not confident that their planes wouldn't be shot down by their own troops

There's quite a few threads on various platforms that suggest the strange way they've conducted the war means that the Russian military has no capability (at the moment) for close air support or, conversely, knowing which planes are overhead. It's made worse because lots of the soldiers have no idea where they are or what they're supposed to be doing.
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stelfox in reply to @nick_h.

political approval not yet given to use unguided munitions instead (they would cause far more civilian deaths)

Can't believe this, they've been shelling cities, dropping cluster munitions, and I believe a thermobaric device. He doesn't seem to be after hearts and minds

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