How poor training is killing Russian pilots

It’s commonly said that Russian fighter pilots are not as well trained as their Western counterparts, particularly those from the United States. But after conspiracy theories began to surface on social media about the Russian pilot colliding with the MQ-9 on purpose so Russian vessels in the Black Sea could recover it, the question of pilot competency within the Russian armed forces became more important.

Last week, we dove into the shortcomings of Russian pilot training. This week, we'll explore how those shortcomings are manifesting in combat.

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Further Reading:
MQ-9/Su-27 interaction: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/russian-...


Citations:
Su-27: https://aerocorner.com/aircraft/sukho...
Russian spending: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1...
US fleet size: https://worldpopulationreview.com/cou....
RUS fleet size: https://www.globalfirepower.com/aircr...
PPP: https://knoema.com/atlas/Russian-Fede....
PPP Conversion: https://www.chrislross.com/PPPConverter/
Rand analysis: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand...
Air Force pilot training: http://sandboxx.us/blog/how-much-does...
AF pilot trng: https://sofrep.com/fightersweep/how-t...
AF Pilot trng: https://www.airforce.com/careers/avia...
IFF Course: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/PDF...
International Review: https://international-review.org/dwar...
US pilot hours: https://www.heritage.org/military-str...
US Pilot hours counterpoint: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air...
Vietnam: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/more-tha...
Red Flag: https://www.nellis.af.mil/About/Fact-...
Red Flag costs: https://migflug.com/jetflights/red-fl...
Plopski quote: https://hushkit.net/2021/03/23/everyt...
UKR vs RUS aircraft downing: https://www.sandboxx.us/wp-content/up...
Russian doctrine https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/how-russ...
Justin Bronk: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research...
RUSI 1: https://static.rusi.org/359-SR-Ukrain...
Rybar quote: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/...
Russian mil culture: https://www.businessinsider.com/fight...
RUSI II: https://static.rusi.org/SR-Russian-Ai...