Russia's Air Power in Crisis is absolutely top-notch. Must reading for anyone interested in Russia's armed forces today and how they may fit into the new world order. Nobody knows this subject better or can write about it with a greater authority
Book Description
Russia's air power has fallen on hard time since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. At the height of the Soviet era the Russian air force (VVS) purchased more than four hundred aircraft per year. In 1992 it bought thirty-two; in 1997 none. After the 1994-5 war with the breakaway republic of Chechnya, the VVS commander reported that fuel shortages had reduced the annual flight time of some of his pilots to only fifteen hours.
Focusing mainly on fighter aviation and drawing on more than two decades of research, Lambeth shows how military air power in Russia has steadily withered away since the breakup of the USSR. Based in part on conversations with Russian air force leaders, the book describes how the VVS has confronted such problems as aging aircraft, inadequate flight training, a rising accident rate, and miserable living conditions for officers and their families.
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