I assume they need some minimum number to fortify the rest of the border, so I wonder what amount they can actually lose before theor border readiness degrades.
Unless there is an actual offensive going on, these are not really needed. They are attack aircraft (short-range air-to-ground missiles and rockets, small bombs and cannons, etc.), not interceptors or aerial combat fighters. Their air-to-air capability is largely non-existent, and strictly defensive. Russia may use some in Syria, but Ukraine would be their main theatre at the moment.
They can’t have too many of these left
30 down and 192 to go according to Wikipedia (which doesn’t include today’s one)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_Russian_military_aircraft
I assume they need some minimum number to fortify the rest of the border, so I wonder what amount they can actually lose before theor border readiness degrades.
Unless there is an actual offensive going on, these are not really needed. They are attack aircraft (short-range air-to-ground missiles and rockets, small bombs and cannons, etc.), not interceptors or aerial combat fighters. Their air-to-air capability is largely non-existent, and strictly defensive. Russia may use some in Syria, but Ukraine would be their main theatre at the moment.