The Ukrainian Air Force Formed A New Strike Squadron--By Arming Reconnaissance Bombers

[Uncle Joe]

With British Cruise Missiles

(snip)

In 15 months of hard fighting, the air force has lost at least half of its pre-war jet inventory—and scores of pilots. But amid this violence, one small community had been relatively idle: the section of the 7th Bomber Regiment that handles the service’s reconnaissance missions. The air space over the Ukraine battlefield has become too dangerous for manned recon flights.

Working closely with the United Kingdom, the Ukrainian air force has equipped at least some of the recon section—which flies two-seat, supersonic Sukhoi Su-24MRs from the regiment’s base in western Ukraine—with British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

And now the recon pilots are shooting the 1.5-ton, subsonic Storm Shadows at targets as far as 155 miles away, specifically targeting the warehouses that Russian logisticians rely on to feed, fuel and arm the combat battalions.

These strikes are part of what military planners call a “shaping operation.” That is, an effort to set conditions for a successful offensive—by unraveling the enemy’s logistics and starving his front-line forces.

(snip)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/05/28/the-ukrainian-air-force-formed-a-new-strike-squadron-by-arming-reconnaissance-bombers-with-british-cruise-missiles/?sh=249f42ed45fa

[electric_blue68]

1. Ty for you nfo. Slava Ukraini! 🌻🇺🇦🌻