A heavily armed Russian Aerospace Forces Ka-52 Hokum during the conflict in Ukraine. Russian Ministry of Defense
Warzone/The Drive: Ukraine’s Armor Appears To Have A Russian Attack Helicopter Problem
Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters’ presence at the front highlights the need for highly mobile and survivable short-range air defenses.
As Ukraine presses on with its counteroffensive in the south and east, making incremental advances in the process, there is evidence that Russia may be starting to enjoy more aerial access over critical areas near the front lines.
As Russia continues to adapt its application of air power, after a fairly dismal start to the campaign, some of its aircraft are now able to operate in a less restricted way, or at least Russia is willing to take on more risk in doing so. Either way, this will put further pressure on the Ukrainian forces, raising questions, in particular, about the availability of mobile short-range air defense systems, or SHORAD. At the very least, as Ukraine gets away from its more entrenched and fixed air defense capabilities, the importance of SHORAD is only going to be underscored.
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WNU Editor: It is telling that ten days into the counteroffensive, Ukraine has only shot down one Russian attack helicopter. This tells me two things. Ukraine is clearly lacking surface to air defense missiles, and Russia is dominating the skies along the front.