Unexpected: Could Ukraine Actually Achieve Air Superiority With NATO Help?

Video Above: Assistant Sec. of Army Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Talks Hypersonic Weapons

By Kris Osborn – President, Center for Military Modernization

Russia’s inability to achieve air supremacy in the skies above Ukraine continues to emerge as somewhat of an alarming, difficult to explain ongoing phenomenon. In addition to the obvious and well known numerical discrepancy between Russia’s more than 700 fighter jets and Ukraines roughly 64 fighters. Why can’t Russia achieve air superiority? It has been what could be called a lingering mystery to a certain extent.

In recent months, there have been a number of key variables discussed by Senior Pentagon leaders such as the sheer intensity of Ukrainian fighters, the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defenses and a Russian military decision to be “risk-averse.” All of these factors, however, do not seem to fully account for why Russia is still unable to achieve air supremacy six months into the war, despite having hundreds more fighter jets than Ukraine.

This circumstance, however surprising, may now be inspiring Ukrainians and the West to think that perhaps achieving “air superiority” over Russian Air Forces is not beyond the question. By contrast, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl has repeatedly said sending Western fighter jets to Ukraine is not “inconceivable,” something which officials say is still under consideration. The prospect of sending Western 4th-generation fighter aircraft seems very much alive, yet Pentagon officials describe this is a longer-term effort.

“Our current priority as it relates to aircraft is making sure that Ukrainians can use the aircraft they currently have to generate effects in the current conflict,” Colin Kahl, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, told reporters according to a Pentagon transcript.

In the near term, Ukrainian Soviet-era, Russian-built Mig-29 fighters are being armed with cutting edge Western weaponry such as the High-Speed-Anti-Radiation (HARM) missile specifically configured to fire from Russian jets.