According to the UK Ministry of Defense, Russia has lost an estimated 90 aircraft since the escalation of Russia’s war of aggression in late February 2022. Via the Network X the U.K. Ministry of Defense writes:
“The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) has lost about 90 fixed-wing aircraft in combat since February 2022. It also flies some of its fighter types much more intensively than in peacetime. All aircraft have a life expectancy expressed in flight hours. It is very likely that with this additional wartime use, Russia will use up the life of many of its aicraft much faster than the VKS has planned. The need for additional maintenance is complicated by a shortage of spare parts due to increasing demand and international sanctions. The VKS remains in a position to increase the number of sorties over occupied Ukraine.
However, with the war lasting much longer than the Russian Defense Ministry had originally planned, aircraft attrition is likely to have affected the VKS’s long-term tactical air power.”
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin (2022-10-10), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
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