The Ukrainian military has reported that it has successfully shot down another Su-34 aircraft belonging to the Russian armed forces. The Russian Defense Ministry, however, has chosen to remain silent and has not provided any comments or statements regarding this incident. This is not the first occurrence of such an incident, as it marks the third Russian aircraft that has been shot down in a span of only three days. Additionally, it is also the eleventh aircraft that has been downed in the month of February itself.
The American publication, Forbes, has attempted to shed some light on how these frequent downing of Russian aircraft could be possible. Among various contributing factors, one significant issue that stands out is the crippling impact of sanctions on the Russian aerospace industry. These sanctions have significantly impeded the industry’s ability to construct new aircraft. As a result, the industry has been struggling to keep up with the demand and has only been able to produce a maximum of twenty aircraft per year.
Forbes further hypothesizes that the Ukrainian Air Force may have strategically deployed their American-made Patriot missile launchers. These missile launchers may have been assigned to agile air defense groups that have the capability to move swiftly near the front line. These groups potentially ambush Russian jets with PAC-2 missiles and then quickly relocate to avert any counterattacks. However, this approach comes with its own set of limitations. The Patriot batteries are designed to launch US-manufactured missiles. However, since December, the US has stopped supplying any ammunition to Ukraine, thereby potentially limiting the effectiveness of this approach.
