NEWS 2022 March, 27

Greece acquires six additional Rafales

This new contract, which follows Greece’s acquisition of 18 Rafale in January 2021, will increase to 24 the number of Rafale operated by the Hellenic Air Force.

Following the arrival at Tanagra Air Base of the first six Rafale of the Hellenic Air Force on 19 January 2022, the 18 Rafale relating to the first contract will be fully deployed in Greece by the summer 2023.The six additional Rafale will then be delivered to the Hellenic Air Force shortly thereafter, starting from the summer 2024.

dassault

Heavy losses for the Russian Air Force in Ukraine Invasion

Anti-aircraft missiles like the Stinger and Igla are not the only threats Russian pilots face in the skies over Ukraine.

A dangerous combination of doctrine, training and equipment is partly to blame for the heavy losses the of Russia’s Air Force.

Russia has not modified its ground-attack tactics and is conducting many of its attacks at low altitude, which puts Russian planes in the lethal envelope” of shoulder-fired man-portable air defense systems (MANPADs), wrote the Atlantic Council in an assessment.

The exact total of Russian and Ukrainian aircraft lost so far is unclear. On the Russian side, at least 32 helicopters and 13 fixed-wing aircraft have been damaged or destroyed, though the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claims to have killed 81 planes and 95 helicopters. Ukraine meanwhile is down to just 56 combat aircraft, after starting the war with 98, according to Flight Global’s 2022 World Air Forces directory. For context, the U.S. lost 27 fixed-wing aircraft and five helicopters in combat across five or so weeks during the 1991 invasion of Iraq in Desert Storm.

The VKS prioritizes tactical, close air support missions over strategic missions far from the frontlines. That’s all well and good, but Russian pilots are put at greater risk while trying to achieve this mission because of the technology they work with. While the U.S. Air Force has used precision-guided munitions to great effect since at least Desert Storm, the Russian air force has nowhere near the same quantity of so-called ‘smart’ bombs. Instead, Russian pilots must use unguided ‘dumb’ bombs. But to use them accurately, pilots have to fly low and slow, which makes them vulnerable to attack from the ground.

Russia running out of precision munitions in Ukraine war

Russia is running out of precision guided munitions and it is more likely to rely on so-called dumb bombs and artillery, a senior Pentagon official said on Thursday.

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl speculated that he did not believe President Vladimir Putin wanted to have an all out conflict with NATO.

reuters

Turkish drone became the star of the Ukrainian defense

Widely circulated videos of Russian armored vehicles being destroyed from the air have thrust forward a lesser-known drone called the Bayraktar TB2. Defense News Weekly's in-house expert walks through how the TB2 became central to Ukraine's defensive arsenal.