Why Hasn’t Russia Established Air Superiority?

One of the defining features of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has been the inability of the much larger and more advanced Russian Aerospace Forces to establish air superiority in the conflict. This surprised analysts and prompted a widespread reconsideration of the services’ capabilities as well as the potential threat it poses to NATO countries.

In this episode CNA’s Julian Waller and RUSI’s Justin Bronk join John Stimpson, to examine Russian air operations during the Ukraine War and ask what lessons policy makers can learn from them.

Guest Biographies

Justin Bronk is the Senior Research Fellow for Airpower and Technology in the Military Sciences team at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), and the Editor of the RUSI Defence Systems online journal. His areas of expertise include the modern combat air environment, Russian and Chinese ground-based air defences and fast jet capabilities, the air war during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, unmanned combat aerial vehicles and novel weapons technology.

 Twitter: @Justin_Br0nk

Julian G. Waller is an associate Research analyst in CNA’s Russia Studies program. He is expert in the politics of authoritarian regimes in post-Soviet Eurasia and Europe, with a focus on Russian and Ukrainian domestic political institutions and their relation to political-military issues. At CNA, he has developed reports on Russian military strategy, political media analysis and domestic artificial intelligence developments.

Twitter: @JulianWaller

Further Reading

CNA Report - Russian Combat Air Strengths and Limitations: Lessons from Ukraine