[War] Russia: "Voyenno-vozdushnye sily Rossii"

[Michael Downey]

"Voyenno-vozdushnye sily Rossii"
President Leonid Nemerenko
Russian Federation
24 January 2013
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Air Force General Garnorev was obviously not a happy man as he walked
down the hallway towards the President's office in the Kremlin. Hat
tucked neatly under his left arm, he waited for the secretary to
announce his presence to the men waiting inside.

"General," said Nemerenko as Garnorev entered. The President had taken
steps to make his office more modern and fashionable, removing all the
furniture and paint that made the place look like something out of the
19th Century. A decisively American flair, he had hoped, would make
people feel more at ease. It obviously did not work on Garnorev.

"Mr. President," answered Garnorev, shaking Nemerenko's hand as it was
offered. He also gave a nod of respect to Defense Minister Darashev,
who was seated comfortably on one of the couches arranged in a
circular pattern in front of the President's desk, the Federation's
coat of arms displayed neatly under them.

"This isn't some NKVD interrogation, General," said Nemerenko as he
sat himself into one of the armchairs. "Beria isn't going to break
down the door with a bunch of thugs, there isn't a train waiting to
take you to a gulag. I know the Ministry of Defense is conducting a
full review of the armed forces and that the General Staff is unhappy
about it. But I can assure you this isn't some witch hunt and we're
not out to end careers."

That made Garnorev feel a little better as he seated himself, though
he had heard similar things said to past generals.

"The Air Force is being looked at first because it is the most
important to the strategic security of the Federation," noted
Darashev. "The reasons for the Federation's military decline is not
the fault of anyone currently in the General Staff or the Ministry of
Defense. And as we can all agree, the Armed Forces are still in much
better shape than they were six years ago."

"If anything we feel your logistical administration in brining proper
pay, benefits and training to the Air Force is to be commended," added
in Nemerenko. "Now it is Moscow's turn to take a more direct hand in
things to fix the problem with."

"What did you have in mind?" asked Garnorev.

"Our main concern is the readiness of our fighter elements," stated
Darashev. "Plans to introduce the Su-47 as the primary tactical
fighter of the Air Force have not come to fruition. The PAK AF Project
was only able to be completed with funding from India, who today
remains the primary operator of the Su-47, not us. The operate several
wings of the plane, we operate only twenty. Most of our fighter power
comes from our inventory of Su-27, MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighters. Now
these fighters exist in significant numbers, over twelve hundred
though not all that number operation.

"They key problem is that these designs are becoming outdated when
compared to nations that could possibly offer us a strategic threat.
China has the Super J-10, the European Union as the Typhoon, and the
Americans have the F/A-22," noted Garnorev. "The Typhoon and the
F/A-22 can easily deal with anything we throw at them, and the PLAF is
not only much bigger than our Air Force with equally capable designs
in superior numbers, but their pilots have more flight training time
than ours do."

"As we can all agree, very concerning," nodded Darashev. "And as I
mentioned, this is our top concern. Realistically there is no real
reason to maintain such a huge inventory of fighter jets when not all
of them are operational, and it IS a bit excessive. Thank the Red Air
Force. Our plan is to drastically reduce the size of our fighter
inventory from 1200 to 450 craft, all of which will be Su-47. An
immediate production order of seventy-five fighters per year will be
implemented, and at the same time we will begin selling off Sukhois
and MiGs to help cover some of the cost, though this will not be our
primary source of funding."

"To free up some of the Air Force's assets and priorities, we will
also be transferring the aviation elements absorbed from the Army in
2003 back to their control," said Nemerenko. "To increase our lift
capacity, an order for 150 Ka-60 helicopters over the next four years
is also to be sent out. One hundred for the Army, fifty for the Air
Force."

Darashev nodded. "Yes. As for your concern about pilot flying time,
the freed up logistical ability and cut down on fighters along with
added funding will allow us to ensure all fighter pilots receive
yearly flight training time on par with that of the USAF."

Garnorev nodded. It was a good initiative that would get the Air Force
both badly needed equipment and flying time. He would have to tolerate
his fighter inventory being chopped more than half, but the prospect
of 450 new Su-47s over the next six years more than made up for that.

"Finally, we're going to be restructuring our officer and NCO levels
and training regime for the Air Force," noted the Defense Minister.
"The Air Force will be the first of the services to undergo this type
of restructuring. Our ultimate goal is to do away with the high
officer-to-enlisted ration we suffer from and create a strong NCO
corps."

That also didn't sound too bad either. Garnorev knew very well the
surplus of officers and shortages of sergeant-level non commissioned
officers was a hindrance to the leadership of the Air Force, and
trimming the number of officers would give him a legitimate excuse to
pension off some of the corrupt and/or incompetent ones that still
lingered around.

"The full paperwork will be on your desk," said Nemerenko, standing.
"Both the Kremlin and the MOD have signed off on the appropriate
documents, and the new policies can be implemented at once."

"Thank you, Mr. President," said Garnorev, saluting crisply before
exiting. There was a bit more spring in his step than when he had
first come.

"Is it really this important to you to rebuild the Air Force?" asked
Darashev once the General had left. Nemerenko nodded sternly.

"Yes, it is. I don't seek the Chinese or the EU as being a threat to
us in the near future, but we must always be prepared for the worst."
This was Russia after all, and with their kind of luck it just seemed
prudent to prepare. "A strong military is as much key to internal
stability as it is to external defense, and a capable and effective
Russian Air Force will garner us a bit more respect with NATO and the
Chinese."
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Actions:
1) Begin selling off the Russian Air Force's inventory of Su-27,
MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighter craft
2) Adopt the Su-47 as the standard fighter jet of the Air Force and
begin a production plan of 75 planes for the next six years
3) Return the assets of the former Army Aviation corps to the Russian Army
4) Order 150 Ka-60 helicopters over the next four years; 100 for the
Russian Army, 50 for the Air Force
5) Begin the long-desired program of reducing the Air Force's
officer-to-enlisted ration to levels reflecting an effective fighting
force, promote the creation of a strong professional NCO corps, and
pension off incompetent and corrupt officers as part of the
restructuring.