Uncle fester wrote: Fri Oct 28, 2022 12:48 pm
Good thread. Nothing particularly new but nice snippet re Americans and their inability to operate without air superiority.
Also gives Ukraine huge for their ability to train and learn.
Is it a case of 'can't' or a case of 'don't need to'?
The fact the US generally exploit air superiority is pretty much because they without fail achieve air superiority. They'd be idiots not to use it, but it's not to say they couldn't operate without it. I'm also not clear how deeply involved Western allies are in mission planning itself, but I can't really see how the Ukrainians can be so informed about Russian situation without significant input from the comparatively sophisticated intelligence capabilities their allies possess.
Anyway, even noting that necessity is generally considered the mother of invention, the inventiveness of the Ukrainians has been remarkable - not least in the development of a culture and command structure that actively encourages it. Given they both were part of the old Soviet military and subject to the same doctrines, it's noteworthy how far the Ukrainians have moved on whilst the Russians, if anything, have regressed.