Throughout its history, mankind has modernized the methods of warfare. This led to the fact that in the 21st century there are military technologies that, because of their power, pose a rather serious threat to the whole world. But, as we understand, a similar level of development of the combat sector did not always exist. Some types of troops in various states have a long and rich history of formation and development. In most cases, these are the air forces.
Today, countries such as the Russian Federation and the United States of America can boast of powerful aviation. For several consecutive years, these states have been tacitly competing in the matter of better military equipment and power. In such a matter, the Air Force is often compared, because it is precisely on this branch of the army in the modern world that a large number of tasks and functions are laid. But in order to make a comparative description of the aviation of Russia and the USA, it is necessary to consider these military sectors separately. This will highlight their strengths and weaknesses, as well as answer the question of which country takes the lead in the air today.
What is aviation?
For a long time, the armed forces of many states consisted of artillery, infantry and cavalry. At the same time, some types of troops had a fairly high level of development. But the appearance of aircraft completely changed the idea of the structure of the armed forces. Already in World War I, aviation was used as one of the ways to defeat the physical strength of the enemy. As the technical evolution of this military sector developed. By the end of the XXI century, aviation became the main element of the armed forces of any state. At the same time, the technical equipment of this type of troops has become much more powerful and deadly.
Types of Aviation
The technical development of military equipment, which began at the end of the 20th century and continues to this day, has largely affected the air forces of all states. A large number of technical means of aviation makes it possible to distinguish its individual types, namely:
1. Strategic aviation - is used in most cases for reconnaissance and special operations.
2. Frontline is a short-range force. They are used, as a rule, to defeat the main enemy forces in the process of hostilities.
3. Transportation of equipment, personnel, provisions and other objects lies with military transport aircraft.
4. An important role is played by ambulance aircraft, through which the wounded are delivered to the places of medical care.
The aviation of Russia and the USA, a comparison of which will be presented in this article, is endowed with the presented elements of the mentioned kind of troops. However, in each of these states it has its own specific features. It is on their basis that the air forces of Russia and the USA can be compared, which has been happening very often recently. After all, these countries are the most powerful militarily. For a detailed comparison, US and Russian aviation should be analyzed separately. Because the types of troops of these powers have their own characteristics.
Russian Air Force
The aviation of the Russian Federation is a well-equipped military branch, which is part of the general Armed Forces. Until 2015, he underwent numerous structural reorganizations. The result was the creation of the Aerospace Forces, which included aviation and air defense forces. The presented part of the army has a fairly rich structure. In the process of forming an independent Russia, aviation was not a novelty.
Air forces existed in imperial times. They were formed in 1910. All aviation at that time was divided into separate units. During the existence of the USSR, the Air Force reaches the peak of its power.
Baptism of fire the new Soviet aircraft took place in Spain during the civil war. The collapse of the Soviet Union marked the beginning of a new era. Russian aviation has become a priority area of state financing, which, of course, affected the technical equipment of this type of troops.
Tasks and structure of the Russian Air Force
The aviation of Russia and the USA, a comparison of which will be presented below, has its own structures and functional tasks. The Air Force of the Russian Federation in this case implements the following areas of activity of the armed forces, namely:
1. The reflection of air aggression.
2. Protection of the state from air attacks.
3. Air support for infantry.
4. The defeat of manpower of the enemy and other objects.
5. Protection of the most important objects of the state’s internal infrastructure.
As for the structure of the aviation of Russia, it consists of the previously presented elements, which are inherent in the systems of many states, with classical air forces.
General information about the US Air Force
It should be taken into account the fact that today the United States Air Force is the most numerous, judging by the number of people and aircraft involved. As a separate branch of the army, the Air Force began its existence in 1947. Until that moment, they were part of the US Army. In fact, the Air Force is aviation, because in America these concepts are related. Most of the army has air defense . Aviation has established itself well over the entire period of its existence as one of the most combat-ready combat arms.
US Aviation Structure
Given the large number of equipment and physical forces involved in aviation, this type of troops has a fairly branched structure. Today, it includes, in addition to the Ministry of the Air Force, 11 more commands. During its existence, the United States aviation has shown excellent results in the following campaigns, namely:
- in an operation to deliver street children from Vietnam;
- delivery of humanitarian aid to the CIS;
- humanitarian aid delivery to countries affected by the 2004 tsunami;
- delivery of Somali humanitarian aid.
However, even taking into account the presented features, US and Russian aviation can be compared solely on the basis of technical equipment, which is responsible for combat power.
Superiority
The number of military equipment is one of the criteria on the basis of which the aviation of Russia and the USA is analyzed. A comparison of the air forces of these countries showed that America has been the dominant state in the sky for several years in a row. The number of US aircraft, according to the report for 2015, is about 2,700 units of military equipment. At the same time, Russian aviation is very far behind in this regard. The gap is not hundreds, but thousands of pieces of equipment. Thus, the US Air Force in real war conditions can cause a lot of trouble to Russia. In simple terms, the American pilots "crush the number."
To date, there are 1,400 aircraft in the Russian Federation, which puts the state in third place after the United States in the global aviation rating. Moreover, such a gap in numbers was almost always observed. For example, the aviation of Russia and the USA in 2013 was also compared. The number indicator testified to the advantage of Americans twice.
Aviation responsiveness
The aviation of the Russian Federation and the USA, the comparison of the numbers of which showed the advantage of the latter criterion, should also be analyzed from the perspective of efficiency. The cumbersome arsenal of US military equipment was not such a formidable weapon if America did not have a large number of air bases around the world. That is, the level of operational response of American aviation is quite high due to an extensive network of military points. This positive moment is determined by the participation of America in the NATO bloc. Oddly enough, but the Russian Federation is also not far behind in this regard. At the same time, the absence of air bases around the world is compensated by the presence of a large territory of the state itself. In fact, Russia is the largest country in the world by area, which has a positive effect on its military sector.
Strategic Aviation of Russia and the USA: Comparison
One of the most significant advantages of the US Air Force is the strategic sector, which is represented by fighters. Today, machines of this type are the basis of the combat power of US aviation. Their main feature is that almost all of the strategic American technology is designed to carry out precision attacks on targets on earth. That is, in terms of special operations, US fighters are indispensable.
Russian aviation cannot boast of such a scale. Such capabilities are assigned mainly to front-line bombers, for example: Su-24, Su-34, Su-25. Thus, the strategic aviation of Russia and the United States, which they are trying to compare everywhere, shows America's advantage in this case. However, it is worth noting that Russia began in 2010 an active program of modernization and rejuvenation of its Air Force. As a result, by the year 2025, the “arrival” of new strategic bombers of the PAK-DA type is expected in the Russian Federation. At the same time, the United States of America extended the activities of its military equipment until 2030. This indicates the gradual aging of the US aviation sector.
Thus, the strategic aviation of Russia and the United States is characterized by the presence of a large number of equipment and the gradual updating of the Russian Air Force, which will certainly give us an advantage over the Americans in a few years.
A gap in quality today
The aviation of Russia and the USA, the comparison of which often indicates the superiority of the latter, shows the backwardness of domestic technology in terms of the quality and novelty of aircraft. Even despite the fact that the Air Force’s “rejuvenation” program, which began in 2010, as mentioned earlier, has begun, America’s aircraft are several times more technically superior than Russian aircraft. This is an extremely negative factor, because it jeopardizes the outcome of any military operations with America for our state. The problem is that today in Russia all aviation is represented by 4th-generation vehicles. The United States achieved this technological progress back in the 80s of the last century.
Thus, the aviation of Russia and the United States in comparison shows the quality advantage of American aircraft. In addition, the development of technical equipment has long been underway in the Russian Federation, which should become an analogue of the famous American "B-2" ("Stealth"). At the same time, in the USA, new equipment is being developed on the basis of the already presented aircraft.
"Reserve" in case of war
It is worth noting the fact that all the started technical developments - both in the USA and in Russia - require huge sums of money. Their absence significantly slows down the process of updating the fleet. Therefore, in the case of full-scale hostilities, the main confrontation will occur with the use of 4th generation aircraft on both sides of the barricades.
The Americans will use F-15, F-16, F-18 class fighters, and the Russian Federation will use Su-2 5 fighter planes and MiG-28, MiG-35 fighter jets, etc. When Russian and US aircraft 2014 was compared, then the analysis showed the same characteristic fleet. Therefore, in the near future, special changes, as we understand it, are not expected. All shifts are designed for a minimum of 5 years.
Conclusion
So, the article analyzed the military aircraft of the United States and Russia, taking into account different - qualitative and quantitative - criteria. In conclusion, it should be noted that the characteristics presented are based on dry statistics and individual episodes of the combat use of aviation in both countries. The main comparison will be possible only in a direct clash between the United States and the Russian Federation, which, hopefully, will never happen.