I was thinking of what needed to be done in 1991 to prevent the decline in effectiveness after the fall of the USSR. Would the following have been doable, and what effect would they have had:
– Remove the MiG-21 from service
– Remove the MiG-23 from service
– Remove the MiG-27 from service
– Remove the Su-17 from service
– Remove the Su-15 from service
– Remove the Tu-22 from service
– Remove the MiG-25P from service (not the MiG-25R or MiG-25BM)
We know that all these types (except for a handful of Su-17M4R aircraft retained for reconaissance purposes, like the MiG-25R) were eventually retired at some point in the 1990s to free up funds.
We also know that the PVO and VVS were merged in 1998 (IIRC), which cut bureaucracy and strengthened the force greatly- many units and airfields were eliminated but their ground crews, tools, and spare parts were combined into fewer units.
Should this have been done earlier?
How many planes, realistically, are we talking about deactivating?
How many bases would this have shut down?
How much money would it have freed up?
What to do with the thousands of deactivated aircraft? Boneyard-type solution?
I was hoping that it would be enough of a relief to the force that they could sustain the Su-27, MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-24, Su-25, Tu-22M force at somewhere around 1991 levels.
Was this even possible, or would it have been a political issue (all those out of work pilots)
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May 31, 2003 at 5:32 pm