ABSTRACT
The Russian air force (Voyenno-Vozdushnyye Sily-VVS) is no longer the feared instrument that it was in Soviet times. The past ten years have proven to be very challenging, if not disquieting. The problems encountered today by the VVS are hardly surprising to the observers of the Russian political and economic scenes; they stem from an economy in reconstruction, a new strategic environment, and parochial interests. It is not the first time in its history that the VVS faces such a situation. It suffered from Stalin's purges and was nearly eliminated by Germany in the Great Patriotic War (1941-45), but heroically came back to inflict serious losses in a war of attrition against an initially superior foe. Its heyday came during the Cold War that ended in 1989, when it significantly increased its numbers and ability to wage war from the air. Although the VVS never did match the West in all technological areas, experts recognised that it had talent and resources to innovate in several.
