British military intelligence in today’s report on the war in Ukraine refers to Russia’s Aerospace Forces (its reports yesterday and the day before yesterday were about the Russian war fleet and land forces and the changes they have undergone in the 1,000-plus days of war).

In these 1,000 days, the Aerospace Forces, despite their numerical and technological superiority over the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, were unable to gain dominance in the air, British military intelligence points out. Russia has resorted to using its own tactical air force with Su-34 aircraft, as “air artillery”.

A major factor that has changed the nature of air conflict has been aggressive drones. Their use gives Russia time to restore its long-range aviation capabilities and replenish its cruise and ballistic missile stocks.

For the air defense of Ukraine the situation is becoming more and more complicated and tense. Russia, combining drones and long-range aviation, is carrying out continuous attacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure and air bases. Over the winter British intelligence expects this tactic to continue as “Russia tries to bend the will of the Ukrainian people”.

Ukraine also successfully uses offensive drones. In mid-to-late September, it hit four strategic munitions depots hundreds of kilometers from Ukrainian soil, causing “the largest loss of Russian- and North Korean-made munitions” of the war, British military intelligence wrote, without its usual caveats. . This also suggests that the Russian air defense system was unable to protect the strategically important military installations from the Ukrainian drones.