PublishedHelion & Company, December 2024 |
ISBN9781804515785 |
FormatSoftcover, 100 pages |
Dimensions29.7cm × 21cm |
An in-depth analysis of the air conflict between Russia and Ukraine, exploring the failures and successes of both sides' air forces and their impact on the ground campaign. On 24 February 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation initiated an invasion of Ukraine.
Thus began the biggest and longest air war fought in Europe since 1945, and a conflict that saw the deployment of full spectrum of the Russian air power: strategic bombers deployed hundreds of cruise missiles combined with strikes by tactical ballistic missiles; the Russian Air-Space Force deployed its tactical and helicopter aviation into large-scale airborne and heliborne operations deep into Ukraine, while the Ukrainian Air Force fought back with its interceptors and attack helicopters. Taking place after the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine and illegal annexation of Crimea of 2014-2015, and eight years of low-scale warfare in Donbas, as well as countless incidents on the ground and at sea, cyberwarfare, and political tensions, the onslaught was expected by many Western and Russian intelligence services to quickly topple the democratically elected government in Kyiv, and overrun and disarm the Ukrainian armed forces - with help of collaborators - in just three to 14 days. Despite the realisation of a full-scale Russian assault and invasion coming as a surprise to many, the Ukrainian Air Force (PSU) offered fierce resistance. The result was weeks of high-intensity air warfare, which ended only once the ground-based air defences of both sides were deployed in force to block the airspace for tactical aircraft of both sides. Richly illustrated and providing a detailed study of the participating air forces, and the fighting in the air during the Russian invasion, War in Ukraine, Volume 6 is the first concise and inclusive military history of this drama. AUTHORS: Tom Cooper is an Austrian aerial warfare analyst and historian. Following a career in worldwide transportation business - during which he established a network of contacts in the Middle East and Africa - he moved into narrow-focus analysis and writing on small, little-known air forces and conflicts, about which he has collected extensive archives. This has resulted in specialization in such Middle Eastern air forces as of those of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, plus various African and Asian air forces. Except for authoring and co-authoring more than 30 books - including about a dozen of titles for Helion's @War series - and over 1000 articles, Cooper is a regular correspondent for multiple defense-related publications. Adrien Fontanellaz, from Switzerland, is a military history researcher and author. He developed a passion for military history at an early age and has progressively narrowed his studies to modern-day conflicts. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Pully-based Centre d'histoire et de prospective militaries (Military History and Prospectives Center), and regularly contributes for the Revue Militaire Suisse and various French military history magazines. He is co-founder and a regular contributor to the French military history website L'autre cote de la colline. Milos Sipos is a Slovakian military historian. While pursuing a career in law, he has collected extensive documentation on inter-connected political, industrial, human resources and military-related affair in Iran, Iraq, and Syria. His core interest is a systematic approach to studies of their deep impacts upon combat efficiency and the general performance of local militaries. After more than 10 years of related work on the ACIG.info forum, he co-authored the much acclaimed book 'Iraqi Mirages: The Dassault Mirage Family in Service with the Iraqi Air Force'. This is his second instalment for Helion. 114 colour photos, 33 colour profiles, 5 colour maps, 12 tables
