Many are asking why the Russian fighter jets are not using their most advanced fighters in the war against Ukraine. The reason is startling – because it saves them for a war against NATO, writes Business Insider.
Military experts say the Kremlin is saving this resource for a future war against NATO. The Russians, on paper, “can bring more advanced aircraft into the fight (against Ukraine), but they just haven’t done it yet”.
In particular, Russia has not yet used in active operations its modern Su-57 aircraft, which is touted by the Kremlin as an analogue of the American F-35. This fighter only fired missiles from Russian territory a few times, but did not fly into Ukrainian airspace. And the Russians present him as supposedly “invisible“ for the opponent.
Russia uses the Su-57 in such a way that there is “no risk”. The reason for this is simply that they want to make sure they maintain a reliable, modern air force for any future operations, including a possible war against NATO. In addition, the reputational blow for Russia in the loss of its most advanced fighters in Ukraine will be huge.
Russia is sacrificing some of the effectiveness of its troops in Ukraine to preserve critical assets for a possible future conflict. Russia takes care of its aviation and does not throw it as zealously into the meat grinder of the war in Ukraine as it does with its ground forces. The Russian army's infantry is suffering unprecedented losses on the Ukrainian front, but Vladimir Putin has a huge resource in manpower and is more concerned about his fighter jets than his soldiers.
Moscow is keeping its planes because it knows that if it loses a large number of them in Ukraine, it will have nothing left to defend itself against NATO. US General Christopher Cavoli told Congress in April that Russia had lost only about 10 percent of its air force in Ukraine. That is, there are many more resources in the arsenal of the Russian Air Force.
It is also important to note that Ukraine is prohibited from attacking Russian military airfields deep inside Russian territory with Western weapons. This gives the Russian military aviation an advantage, because it can launch missiles near the Ukrainian border undisturbed and safely return to its bases.