Ukraine's AIR FORCE Makes ZERO Sense… That’s EXACTLY Why It’s So Effective

The Military Show

While most global militaries streamline their fighter fleets to reduce costs and complexity, Ukraine is doing the exact opposite. On track to operate eight different combat jet models from four nations, including Soviet legacy jets, American F-16s, French Mirage 2000s, Dassault Rafales, and Swedish Gripens, Kyiv’s diverse Air Force is built by design. This strategy accelerates its transition to Western hardware while mitigating critical supply chain risks.  ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Russia Builds S8000 Banderol Missile With AliExpress Engine 00:45 - Kronshtadt Orion Drone Adapted Into Jet Strike Weapon 01:30 - Russian S8000 Banderol Cruise Missile Specs and Speed 02:25 - Russian Missile Uses $16,000 Chinese Swiwin Jet Engine 03:30 - How Russia Smuggles Electronics Using Foreign Shell Companies 04:30 - Kronshtadt Defense Company Faces Bankruptcy and Lawsuits 05:15 - Russia Integrates Banderol Missiles Into Combined Strikes 06:10 - Why Ukrainian Machine Guns Fail Against Banderol Drones 07:05 - Ukraine Shoots Down Banderol With Bofors L70 Gun 08:15 - Russian Banderol Missile vs Soviet Kh-59 Comparison 09:20 - German Skynex System Destroys 12 Russian Targets 10:15 - Russian Orion Drone Crashes Near Kerch Airfield Crimea 11:05 - Western Sanctions Force Russian Military Supply Improvisation 12:00 - Kh-101 Missile Cost vs $16,000 Banderol Jet Engine 13:00 - Patriot PAC-3 Interceptor Costs vs Cheap Jet Drones 14:00 - Ukraine Palianytsia and Peklo Jet Drones Counter Russia 15:00 - German Gepard and Bofors L70 Asymmetric Air Defense 15:50 - Is the Line Between Drones and Missiles Disappearing?  Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join  #militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis #themilitaryshow  SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/iTxdVuuB

Transcript

00:00If there's one thing the world has learned about Ukraine during its war with Russia,

00:04it's that this country is full of surprises. It doesn't play by the usual rules or adhere to

00:09expected military standards. Instead, it innovates, it trailblazes, it does things differently,

00:16often because it has no other choice. It doesn't have the gigantic military budget or vast resources

00:21that Russia has after all. So, it's had to adapt to difficult conditions and tight constraints

00:27in order to both survive and succeed in the conflict so far. Nowhere is this more evident

00:33than in the Ukrainian air force, which is, without doubt, one of the strangest air forces on the

00:38planet today. Indeed, while many other major military powers around the world focus on

00:43streamlining their air forces and simplifying their fleet, Ukraine has gone in the opposite

00:48direction, developing an increasingly diverse and complex aerial branch of its armed forces.

00:53No other country is doing this, and on the surface, it may look like a completely crazy decision that

00:59defies both logic and reason. Dig a little deeper, however, and this could turn out to be yet another

01:05masterstroke by Kiev's commanders, one that will ultimately make their air force significantly

01:09stronger than it's ever been before. In order to understand what makes Ukraine's air force so

01:15different, we first have to explore what makes so many of the others so similar. Look at many of the

01:20the world's air forces and you'll notice a common trend. They tend to operate just one or two main

01:25types of fighter jets. France, for example, primarily relies on its 4.5 generation Dassault Rafale

01:32and also has a smaller feat of Dassault Mirage 2000s. Germany's jet fleet, meanwhile, extensively focuses

01:38on the Eurofighter Typhoon, supplemented by the Panavia Tornado. The UK also operates the Typhoon,

01:45as well as a batch of American Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightnings. It's a similar story across Europe

01:51and beyond. The US is a rare exception to the rule, since it has a dramatically bigger military budget

01:56than any other nation on earth, which effectively allows it to operate and maintain a much wider

02:01variety of aircraft. Most countries, however, follow the same playbook, and the common objective of many

02:07military modernization programs is to streamline air force fleets, turning complex and diverse fleets

02:13into smaller, simpler ones. There are two big reasons for this, cost and complexity. Even

02:19relatively basic combat aircraft still come with expensive price tags, often in the tens of hundreds

02:25of millions of dollars per unit. And they don't just cost a lot to make, but also to maintain. There

02:30are costs involved in repairing and replacing the many complex mechanical parts and components that make

02:36up these miracles of engineering, for example. There are also costs related to logistics, supply chains,

02:42and pilot training. The more different types of aircraft a country operates, the more these costs

02:47add up and complexities multiply. A force using three very different combat aircraft, for example,

02:54will need to have unique pilot training programs for each one, along with specific spare parts to

02:58keep each jet up and running and ready to deploy as and when it's needed. There are strategic

03:04complexities involved with diverse and complex fleets as well. If commanders have a whole host of

03:09different aircraft to choose from, they need to continually weigh up the pros and cons of each

03:14one to work out which they should use in any given situation. If, however, they have one or two multi

03:20-role

03:20aircraft at their disposal, everything becomes simpler, cheaper and faster. There's also the reason why so

03:26many of the latest jets, as well as those that are currently in development, are designed to be as

03:31flexible as possible, able to take on multiple workloads and fulfill a wide range of duties.

03:36The F-35, for example, is famously regarded as the jack of all trades in the military world,

03:42able to seamlessly switch between air-to-air combat operations, ground support missions,

03:47and intelligence gathering on demand. This isn't to say that there aren't still some militaries out

03:53there that operate a mixture of jets, nor that there aren't any advantages to that approach.

03:57Diversifying a fleet can be a smart move in certain circumstances, but on the whole,

04:03most major militaries are moving in the same direction, towards simpler, streamlined air forces

04:08with fewer jet types than they had in the past. Several NATO members operate just one sort of jet,

04:14for example. Then there's Ukraine, and Ukraine does things extremely differently. It doesn't just

04:20operate one or two types of combat jets, it doesn't even operate only three or four. According to the

04:26latest data, it's on track to have no fewer than eight different models of fighter jets designed in

04:32four different countries. Almost no air force in the world runs such a diverse and complicated fleet,

04:37and it's not hard to understand why. Christoph Bergz, aviation analyst with the Royal United

04:42Services Institute, explained to Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, that most nations avoid such fleets due to

04:49a comparative loss of economies in scale, and a need to establish comprehensive training, support,

04:56type of jet. So if nobody else is doing it, why is Ukraine? Well, to understand that,

05:02we first have to rewind and look back at the history of the Ukrainian air force thus far.

05:07When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Ukraine actually inherited one of the largest fleets of

05:12warplanes in the world. Its inventory included around 2,000 aircraft, including the likes of the

05:182160 and 295 strategic bombers, and hundreds of Soviet-era fighters like the MiG-29, Su-27 and Su-24.

05:27This vast fleet gave Ukraine the ability to conduct almost any kind of aerial operations it could

05:32have needed, all the way up to nuclear strategic attacks. In 1994, however, Ukraine agreed to the

05:39Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, agreeing to surrender its nuclear weapons to Russia,

05:44which, in return, agreed to respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and borders.

05:50As we know now, Russia ultimately refused to keep its side of the bargain, but back in the 1990s,

05:56Kyiv had full confidence that Moscow would stick to the deal. So, believing it was safe from any sort

06:01of invasion or large-scale attack, Ukraine began dismantling its aerial fleet. As the years passed,

06:07it scrapped, sold or simply transferred hundreds of aircraft, including everything from bombers to jets,

06:13train aircraft, transport aircraft, tankers and attack helicopters. These transitions brought

06:19millions of dollars into the country, but left its military drastically under-equipped in case a

06:24conflict ever broke out. Then in 2014, Ukraine's reality was turned upside down when Russian special

06:31forces infiltrated the country and seized control of the Crimean Peninsula. It happened so quickly,

06:37Ukraine had little time to muster any sort of reaction. But one fact was painfully clear. The

06:43Budapest Memorandum had been broken, and Kyiv could no longer count on the security guarantees that had

06:48influenced so many of its military decisions up to that point. Soon after the annexation of Crimea,

06:54the Ukrainian Air Force effectively reactivated. Old veterans were brought back into service, teaching and

07:00training the next generation of pilots in the art of aerial warfare, while engineers got to work

07:05restoring, repairing and modernizing a few dozen of the mothball jets, like Su-27s and MiG-29s,

07:12that had been sitting in old military warehouses gathering dust for decades.

07:16Ukraine also reached out to allied nations to help it prepare for the possibility of war,

07:22with young pilots being sent to the Norwegian Air Force Academy in Trondheim to hone their skills.

07:27It wasn't much, but it was something, and Ukraine also began investing in modern air defense systems

07:32and drones, realizing that if a war did break out, its aerial force alone wouldn't be anywhere near

07:37sufficient to compete with its Russian equivalent. Despite these efforts and improvements, by the

07:43time Russian forces marched over the border into Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv's defense forces had

07:49just 120 aircraft at their disposal, and only one-third of them were actually usable, according to then

07:54commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzny. Russia, meanwhile, had in excess of 4,000 aircraft, plus the funds and

08:01means to make hundreds, if not thousands more. It was a complete mismatch, and Ukraine soon realized

08:07that if it was to have any chance of surviving the war, then something had to change. But before we

08:12explain

08:13what happened next, there's more where this came from, so if you're getting value from the military show,

08:18don't forget to subscribe. Now, the opening exchanges of the Russia-Ukraine war almost

08:23obliterated the Ukrainian air force. Indeed, in the very first few hours of the attack on February 24,

08:302022, Russian forces specifically targeted UAF assets and infrastructure, bombarding numerous

08:36airfields, bases, and fuel storage facilities. Fortunately for Ukraine, many of its aircraft were

08:42either already in the air at the time, or hidden away in other locations, so they managed to survive.

08:47Still, the days that followed proved just how much stronger the Russian air force was.

08:52The Kremlin's pilots were conducting up to 200 sorties a day. Kyiv's pilots, meanwhile,

08:57were doing around 5 to 10, as they struggled to make do with their relatively meagre fleet,

09:01made up of four Soviet jet types, the MiG-29 and Su-24, Su-25 and Su-27. Ukraine's allies

09:10could see

09:10that the country's air force was on borrowed time, and they realized it was up to them to do something

09:15about it. So, they began looking through their own inventories to identify useful aircraft they could

09:21send Kyiv's way. Throughout 2023, for example, various nations across Central and Eastern Europe

09:27sent some of their own Soviet-era combat jets to supplement Ukraine's forces. Slovakia and Poland,

09:33for instance, transferred some MiG-29s. And while he was grateful for these reinforcements,

09:39Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained hopeful that some of the Western world's major

09:43powers would someday provide Kyiv with more modern, advanced and capable fighters.

09:48It took time, but he eventually got what he wanted. In 2024, a first batch of US-built F-16

09:55fighter jets

09:56officially touched down on Ukrainian soil, bringing the Ukrainian Air Force's fleet to a grand

10:01total of five different jet types. The country then had to carry out intensive sessions of pilot

10:07training, while also sourcing simulators, spare parts, and support infrastructure,

10:11before finally rolling its F-16s into operational service. They've since gone on to become highly

10:17effective, accounting for around 80% of all Ukrainian sorties and proving immensely useful in terms of

10:23countering Russian missiles and drones, as well as executing strikes on ground targets. Various other

10:28nations have also contributed additional F-16s to Ukraine in the intervening years. And in 2025,

10:35Kyiv's Air Force gained another exciting addition, the Mirage 2000. First flown in 1978, this French

10:42fighter has been a mainstay in the French Air Force for decades and has featured in numerous conflicts

10:47over the years, from the Gulf War to the war in Afghanistan and the Syrian Civil War. Various military

10:53forces around the world continue to rely on them, including India, China, and the United Arab Emirates.

10:59And the Mirage 2000 has proven popular due to its impressive agility, ability to reach Mach 2 speeds,

11:05and advanced avionics. Again, it took time for Ukraine to train pilots on how to use this system,

11:12but by early 2026, videos were already emerging of Mirage 2000 jets carrying out strike missions on the

11:19Eastern Front and dropping bombs on Russian targets. That meant that Ukraine now had six different jets

11:24overall. But it wasn't stopping there. On June 30, 2026, President Zelensky announced that Ukraine and

11:32Sweden had signed an agreement for the purchase of 16 Swedish Gripen E fighter jets as part of a package

11:38that will also include related equipment, technical assistance, and support to help Ukrainian pilots and

11:44engineers deploy and make use of these aircraft as quickly and efficiently as possible.

11:49Now, according to reports, the first 16 of these fighters will arrive in Ukraine in 2029 and 2030.

11:56And while the Gripen is a little cheaper and simpler compared to the Mirage 2000 and F-16,

12:02it still brings several distinct advantages to the table, like its low operating costs and ability to

12:07both take off and land on relatively short runways or highways, which is ideal for Ukraine given that much

12:13of the Air Force's pre-existing infrastructure was damaged or destroyed back in 2022.

12:19Then, only a couple of weeks after the Gripen announcement, Ukraine unveiled yet another deal.

12:24In a joint statement with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, Zelensky stated that France

12:29would soon deliver four of a pledged 16 Dassault Rafale fighters to Ukraine. The first batch will arrive

12:35once Ukrainian pilots have undergone the necessary training in France, which is set to begin before

12:40the end of 2026. By 2028, therefore, or potentially even earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force should

12:47operate a grand total of eight types of combat jets from the Soviet Union, the United States,

12:52Sweden, and France. And the crowning jewel of that collection will undoubtedly be the Rafale,

12:58which is widely regarded as one of the very best jets in existence today, boasting almost unrivaled

13:03versatility, advanced sensor fusion technology, and peerless flexibility, capable of carrying out

13:08everything from air defense operations to precision strikes. Very few countries would want such a

13:14diverse and complex air force, but Ukraine seems to have embraced it. It didn't necessarily need

13:19to accept all these different types of jets and could instead have negotiated with its Western allies

13:24to focus on just one or two types in larger quantities. Experts and analysts, however, argue that

13:31Ukraine has purposefully selected such a complex fleet because of its long-term ambitions to dismantle its old,

13:36outdated Soviet fleet and replace it with a fully Western one. As Christoph Bergs explained,

13:42Ukraine will be looking to substitute its legacy Soviet-Russian fleet completely with Western aircraft.

13:48As such, the comparatively small number of Grippens and Rafales that will be phased in over the next few

13:53years will first cover a transitionary, likely accelerated period of training and tactical integration

13:59into squadrons. In short, these new jets aren't actually complicating life for Ukraine.

14:04They're making it easier for the country's air force to proceed with its transition away from Soviet

14:09hardware and towards Western replacement. And that's a transition that simply has to happen.

14:15Ukraine cannot continue to rely on decades-old Soviet jets forever. It's not just that these

14:20aircraft are older, slower and weaker than their Western counterparts, it's also becoming increasingly

14:25difficult to maintain them as well. Because when Russia sees Crimea in 2014, it severed the supply of

14:31spare parts and other crucial resources that the UAF needs to keep its planes in the air.

14:36The more time goes by, the fewer Soviet-era parts and materials Kyiv's engineers will have to work

14:42with. Eventually, it will reach a point where the old MiGs and Su-25s just aren't airworthy anymore.

14:48When that happens, Ukraine wants to be ready. It wants to have a full fleet of Western airplanes ready to

14:53take to the air, leaving the old days behind and symbolizing Kyiv's progression into the modern era.

14:58And Kyiv can't afford to be choosy or wait around for its Western allies to provide specific sorts of

15:04planes in bulk quantities, which is why it happily accepts whatever Europe is willing to send,

15:09signing deals and negotiating agreements with France, Sweden and any other country that wants

15:13to lend a hand. This is how Ukraine's jet fleet became such a mishmash. It wasn't an accident,

15:19it was by design. The F-16s were first to arrive on the scene since the US and European allies

15:25had so

15:25many of these jets in reasonable numbers, as well as plenty of spare parts to keep them operational.

15:30The Mirages came later, since France was already moving away from that model and focusing more on

15:35its Rafales, and Gripens followed up since Sweden already has plenty of them and is eager to assist

15:41in defending Europe's eastern flank. Rafales are just the latest and potentially greatest addition

15:46to this patchwork force, and the benefits for Kyiv are clear to see. It gets a good amount of modern,

15:51combat-ready jets as quickly as possible. Its pilots become even more experience and capable,

15:56and its air force also gets to spread the risk, so that even if one of these jet types fails

16:01somehow,

16:02due to supply cutoff for example, or a political reversal, the rest of the fleet will remain strong.

16:07That last part is particularly important. Ukraine is in active conflict, and it cannot run the risk of

16:13seeing its entire air force grounded just because a supply chain crashes, or an ally elects a new leader who

16:19decides they no longer want to help out as much. It needs a force that's active, engaged, and available

16:25at all times. Diversity makes that possible. Of course, it comes with caveats. It's notoriously

16:31difficult for countries to maintain so many different types of aircraft, and Ukraine has to put time,

16:36effort, and money into training its pilots and engineers to use and maintain each new jet before

16:41it can be deployed. In the long term, however, it's clear to see that this is a necessary step in

16:47the

16:47country's military progression, paving the pathway towards a better and brighter future for the UAF,

16:52one that will bring it back to post-Soviet glory days, and help it not merely beat Russia, but deter

16:58any future attacks or invasions on its territory as well. And Ukraine's allies aren't just providing

17:03fighter jets. They're also delivering numerous other important assets that are changing the face of this

17:08war. Poland, for example, has supplied Ukraine with one of its most valuable armored vehicles,

17:13which you can learn all about in this video. Or to see how Ukraine's drone army is getting

17:18stronger by the day, check out this video about the new Zyrka interceptor. And finally,

17:24make sure to subscribe to The Military Show for more breaking news,

17:27insights, and analysis of the Russia-Ukraine war and other conflicts from around the world.

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