Russia's Air Power in Crisis: A Rand Research Study (Smithsonian History of Aviation Series)

by Benjamin S. Lambeth

Release Date: October, 1999

Edition: Hardcover

Price:

More Info

A current and concise look at a troubled air force

In this sober assessment of the VVS in the post-Soviet era, Lambeth examines the material, doctrinal, organizational, and tactical trends that have ravaged the air forces for the better part of a decade. Some of the material on the early 1990s has appeared in Lambeth's previous work, but there is much that is original here. His appraisal of the dismal operational patterns in today's line VVS units is particularly interesting. Readers familiar with comparatively well-funded Western air forces will be shocked to learn that fuel shortages are forcing many VVS pilots to cut their annual flight time to fifteen hours or below, and that even functional check flights following routine maintenance have been effectively abolished due to fuel constraints. Lambeth's account of the VVS role in the Chechnya conflict is also very interesting (and timely, as Russian airstrikes in Grozny continue).

Though Lambeth is generally quite thorough, I would have enjoyed a slightly more direct treatment of (MiG-29 defector) Zuyev's claims that VVS methods of fighter employment in the late 1980s were in fact not as rigid as the West thought (ultimately Lambeth seems to arrive at the opposite conclusion -- and to be fair, the research he presents seems to support his view). I also would have liked a fuller treatment of the export market in military aircraft -- which, while arguably not an immediate concern of the VVS as an institution, seems inextricably tied up with any future domestic procurement prospects. Finally, the book would benefit greatly from tables or charts illustrating, among other things, the organizational changes that have reshaped the VVS in this decade.

At times the chapters seem a little disjointed and the chronological leaps back and forth in Lambeth's narrative can be confusing, but all of these minor flaws are eclipsed by the wealth of current information in this work. The book remains concise and quite readable, and Lambeth's access to senior VVS officers does much to flavor the text. I recommend this book without reservation to anyone seeking a thoughtful and informed assessment of the non-technical trends in Russian military aviation over the last decade.