HISTORY

One of three Ukrainian Bayraktars destructed and confirmed by photographic evidence.

and it was typically too late for Russian

crews to notice them. After the anti-aircraft

protection was eliminated the rest of the

column was easy prey for the drones.

Ukrainian problem is that they use the ammunition faster than they can obtain it – and

it’s not only true about bombs and rockets

for the drones. In the East, where in more

open space the Russians have better conditions for the anti-aircraft defense, Bayraktars are deployed in a different way. They

especially facilitate the gun fire guidance

utilizing their capable instruments. They

can see pretty far behind the front line without crossing it and expose themselves to

the danger. The gun battery fire is therefore

more efficient that the drones’ ordnance.

mented. It means that the ratio of Russian

claims and positively confirmed Ukrainian

aircraft losses is 699:37.

It is true what we stated in the summary

in the previous issue – the actual numbers

will be somewhere in between and while

the war rages cannot be independently verified. For sure there will be more aircraft

destroyed than shown in the available photographs however the claims are exaggerated. Moreover, some documented losses

that were added to the Oryx site during the

past month are from the earlier period; however, the pictures appeared only recently. For example, an Ukrainian Su-34 shot

down during the first days of war whose

wreck was found in the fields much later.

Similarly, two Ukrainian transport IL-76MD

were destroyed at the Melitopol airport

in the beginning of war but their pictures

appeared more than one months later. One

of them however had been sitting there for

10 years so it is not included in the combat

losses. After the liberation of the Hostomel

airport near Kiev several wrecks of the

Antonov civilian aircraft were found which

were seriously damaged there together

with An-225 Mrija. We don’t know if Russia

included them on their list of the destroyed

Ukrainian aircraft.

The ratio of the confirmed Russian and

Ukrainian losses, 98:37, is interesting. To

some extent it reflects the high number

of missions flown by the Russian AF. The

number gradually increased from 200 daily

to 250 to further 300 and at the time this

article went to print the Russians flew 350

missions daily. The main target was Donbas, also the focus of the Russian ground

forces. During the vast majority of the missions the Russian aircraft did not cross

the front lines and launched their weapons

from distance. Therefore, the number of

Russian aircraft shot down decreased in

comparison to the first stage of war. One

of very few confirmed claims is Su-35 shot

down near Izjum on April 3. The Ukrainian

fighters supposedly played a bait. They lured the Russian plane into the trap where

the anti-aircraft battery waited for it. After

the hit the pilot ejected and became POW.

Losses versus claims

As of April 16, the Russians claimed to have

destroyed 460 unmanned aircraft systems

of all types, 134 combat aircraft and 105 helicopters. That is the total of 699 destroyed

aircraft.

As of April 16, the Ukrainian armed forces

reported 163 aircraft, 138 drones shot down

and 145 helicopters destroyed. That is the

total of 446 destroyed aircraft.

Both sides practically daily announce an

airplane or helicopter shot down. It’s quite

interesting from the Russian side as they

announced a long time ago to have destroyed the whole Ukrainian air force. Regardless, the official Russian sources report daily

more successes fighting this “non-existent”

Ukrainian AF. But not to pick only on Russians, the Ukrainian side also reported successes which cannot be verified and could

be categorized as unrealistic. Since the

war started the destruction of 22 Russian

aircraft, 42 helicopters and 34 drones can

be photographically documented. It means

that the Ukrainian victories versus losses

ratio is 446:98.

The disparity on the Russian side is even bigger. Destruction of 18 Ukrainian airplanes,

5 helicopters and 14 drones can be docu-

May 2022

Two Ukrainian Il-76MD transports were destroyed at Melitopol airfield.

INFO Eduard

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