31 August 2024

NATO must learn lessons from Ukraine to keep its air superiority, US general says

Thibault Spirlet

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the swift proliferation of drones have transformed what air superiority looks like, according to the top US Air Force general in Europe.

NATO must draw lessons from it if it wants to maintain its own aerial supremacy, Gen. James Hecker, commander of US Air Forces in Europe, said in a paper published in the Æther Journal last month.

"Russia's war in Ukraine reaffirms that air superiority remains job number one," he said, not only because it allows forces to conduct successful air operations but also because it prevents air stalemate like the one seen in Ukraine.

So far in the two-and-a-half war, neither Russia nor Ukraine has achieved sustained or substantial air superiority.

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