Russia Forms 'Elite' Group After Air Forces 'Severely Underperformed': U.K.

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense on Monday reported Russia is "highly likely" developing an "elite" attack aviation group for use in Ukraine after its regular air force units have "severely underperformed" throughout the course of the nearly 15 months of war.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, his military reportedly had an air force that was more than 10 times larger than Ukraine's. But a major talking point among military analysts has been Russia's inability to establish air superiority, which is often a common objective for militaries during the early stages of a conflict.

According to an intelligence update from the British defense ministry, Russia is seeking to make its aviation forces a factor in the war with the formation of the elite group.

Code-named "Shtorm," the attack unit will reportedly consist of one or more squadrons of Su-24 Fencer tactical bombers and Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers, as well as a squadron of attack helicopters.

"The mix of aircraft types suggests the group will have a primary role of ground attack missions," the U.K.'s defense ministry wrote in its Monday assessment. "The creation of the group highlights how Russian assesses its regular air force squadrons have severely underperformed in their core function of conducting airstrikes on Ukrainian lines."

The British defense ministry's update comes after the London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) released a report on Friday that detailed how Russia's military has learned from past battlefield mistakes to become a more challenging opponent for Ukraine.

The RUSI researchers behind the report wrote of improvements across the various branches of Russia's forces, including its engineering units, as well as the tank and artillery brigades. The report also highlighted the strength of the country's air defenses and its "potent" electronic warfare (EW) systems.

However, the report found Russia's infantry units are still suffering from low morale, which has undermined cohesion on the battlefield, while Putin's aviation units were also found to have not been a significant factor in the war.

Jack Watling, co-author of the RUSI report, told Newsweek on Friday that Russia had "tried to achieve air superiority and failed."

"They determined that the loss rate for aircraft was unacceptable and have since been husbanding their planes and pilots," Watling said. "They could decide in the future to accept more losses to do damage to the Ukrainians. It remains a serious threat that shapes planning."

Russia may now be retooling their air strategy, according to the British defense ministry. In order to attract "highly skilled and motivated" pilots, the U.K. intelligence update said Russian media has reported that Russia's Ministry of Defense is "offering large pay incentives and opening recruitment to retired aviators."

Philip Ingram MBE, a former British military intelligence officer and founder of Grey Hare Media, told Newsweek on Monday that he's skeptical about how effective the "Shtorm" unit will be.

"I think this call by the Russians for an 'elite air and aviation attack group' is yet another sign of utter desperation," he said. "The fact that Russia air and aviation has not had a greater impact on operations to date, given they should have total air superiority through numbers alone, gives a real insight to the state of the Russian air force and aviation units."

Ingram also compared the new aviation unit to the Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries, which has been instrumental in the war when Russia's formal military has come up short.

"Calling for a 'Wagner of the Air' type of group is a clear sign of desperation and a real shortage of experienced and capable pilots. Bringing retired pilots back wont help as they will have lost any currency and will have no experience dealing with the sophisticated air defense capability now in Ukrainian hands," he said. "The Russians are clutching at straws."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.