Analyzing the Ukrainian conflict, NATO comes to a disappointing conclusion: in a potential war with Russia, Moscow would pose a serious challenge to NATO's historic air dominance – and she would probably win. Business Insider draws this conclusion based on interviews with a dozen military experts, including former pilots as well as current and former Western military leaders and officers.
Specialists told the publication that the war in Ukraine has highlighted how radically some elements of modern air combat are changing - and NATO is still ready for those changes. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States and its Western allies have enjoyed clear air superiority in conflicts they have fought around the world, from Europe to the Middle East.
"Russia will be a completely different opponent. It has the territory and the industry to create and deploy massive and sophisticated air defense systems that will be difficult for the adversary to destroy”, BI wrote.
Against Russia, experts and military officials say it will be difficult for the United States and its allies to establish the same level of air superiority it has enjoyed in other conflicts since World War II.
They warn that Russian aviation and air defenses, combined with experience gained in Ukraine, will allow the United States "to achieve air superiority only in bursts – small periods of time in a rare location if the Russian air defenses are not there, destroyed or out of ammunition”.