British intelligence believes that Russia's military-space forces still retain quite a few aircraft, but it is unlikely that Russia will decide to dramatically expand the air campaign because of this.
As "European Truth" reports, this is stated in the intelligence review of the British Ministry of Defense for February 16.
Analysts note that the Russian Federation continues to use approximately the same number of aircraft and helicopters in hostilities as it did many months in a row before. Departures during the last week have indeed increased compared to previous ones, but aerial activity remains roughly on par with what has been seen since the summer of 2022.
British intelligence believes that the Russian Air Force continues to play a much smaller role in the war than it could due to the fact that Ukrainian air defense is a significant problem for them, and the threat of strikes on base airports, which forces the command to disperse aircraft. Russian fighters operate almost exclusively from the territory controlled by the Russian Federation, which reduces the effectiveness of their use, and also reduces the risks for them.
"Over the territory of Russia, the VKS most likely has an almost intact fleet of about 1,500 military aircraft, despite the fact that more than 130 have been lost since the beginning of the full-scale war. However, it is unlikely that the VKS is currently preparing for a significant expansion of the air campaign, because with the current situation on the battlefield, it threatens them with unacceptable losses of aircraft," the intelligence notes.
It will be recalled that information was received unofficially from the USA that Washington considers the first priority for Ukraine not to be long-range missiles or aircraft, but to provide a sufficient amount of ammunition for artillery and air defense.
In Western capitals, there is concern that Russian air force losses after a year of war are relatively small, and Russia can use this advantage in new offensive attempts.
