美国国家公共电台 NPR--Russia and Ukraine battle daily in the sky. So where are the pilots?

Russia and Ukraine battle daily in the sky. So where are the pilots?

Transcript¹

Russia and Ukraine are waging a fierce fight in the sky. Russia unleashes² drones and missiles. Ukraine often shoots them down with its own missiles, and carries out its own drone strikes.

Yet one thing makes this battle distinctive³ from all previous air wars of the past century: pilots are rare. And this goes very much against the traditional perception of air combat.

"Top Gun: Maverick⁴ is Oscar-nominated this year for Best Picture. And here we are, watching an air war happening. And it looks very different from anything that we see in Top Gun," said Kelly Grieco, with the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank.

"There are [piloted] aircraft that are still flying at times. But we're talking a very small number of sorties compared to compared to past wars," said Grieco, who keeps close tabs on the air war.

When Russia invaded last February, its air campaign initially⁵ looked to be straight from the standard playbook.

Russia sent waves of pilots in advanced fighter jets to bomb Ukraine. The near universal assumption was Russia's powerful air force would quickly overwhelm Ukraine's much smaller force and establish air superiority.

Russia largely abandons piloted war planes

But Ukraine made the most of its limited, Soviet⁶-era air defenses, shooting down dozens of Russian fighter jets and helicopters in the first few months of the war. Since then, Russia, to the surprise of many, has largely stopped sending piloted aircraft into Ukrainian air space.

"We stared at that for the entire first three months of the war going, 'Why aren't the Russians applying the basic tenets of air doctrine,'" said retired⁸ U.S. Air Force officer Peter Gersten.

He knows these tenets well. Gersten flew combat missions as an F-16 pilot early in his career, and later commanded U.S. drone operations in the Middle East. He saw drones assume a prominent role in the U.S. air campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. But piloted U.S. war planes played a significant role in those conflicts as well, and the U.S. alone dominated the skies.

Gersten says it's still not entirely⁹ clear why the Russian air force has fared so poorly. But he stresses that Russia still has well over 1,000 advanced fighter jets, with well-trained pilots, that are not being sent into the skies over Ukraine.

"Russian pilots are some of the best pilots in the world," said Gersten. "And they're also some of the most disciplined pilots in the world."

At least for now, Russia has chosen to keep these pilots and their planes on the sidelines. Russia is relying on missiles and drones, which are much cheaper and easier to replace.

Ukraine has a much smaller number of fighter jets, mostly MiG-29s that date to the Soviet era. Ukraine employs them in combat, but sparingly.

"What the Russians have learned is that this is a war where it's much more sustainable to use unmanned assets, whether those unmanned assets are drones or missiles," said Grieco.

This Russian tactic¹⁰ is also forcing Ukraine to make a tough choice. Ukraine has a limited number of air defense⁷ missiles, which it's been using to take down Russian drones. Yet Russia gets these drones from Iran, perhaps for as little as $20,000. It's a cost-benefit ratio that favors Russia.

If Ukraine exhausts its supply of missiles while targeting Russian drones and missiles, that could clear the way for Russian pilots in fighter jets to return to Ukraine, with a greatly reduced threat of being shot down.

Drones assume more non-combat roles

Drones, meanwhile, are playing a growing role in non-combat operations on the Ukrainian side.

Consider the Canadian-U.S. company, Draganfly, which has been making drones for civilian¹¹ use since the 1990s. CEO Cameron Chell says it never did business in a war zone until last year.

"We were contacted by an American (aid group) that couldn't get their ambulances into besieged¹² cities and asked if it could use our drones," said Chell, who's based in Vancouver.

He noted¹³ that the Draganfly drones "can carry sensitive pharmaceuticals¹⁴, like insulin. That's how we got started over there. And then it's just expanded exponentially."

Around 50 Draganfly drones have been sent to various organizations in Ukraine for a wide variety of missions. They conduct search and rescue operations, they detect landmines¹⁵ from the air, and they deliver blood and other critical supplies to front-line areas.

Chell says this war is demonstrating how a smaller country can use civilian drones, creatively and effectively, when facing an enemy with a larger, more powerful, traditional air force.

"Before, you needed massive systems, you needed manned aircraft. Now you've got $10,000, $20,000 and $50,000, even $2,000 systems that have an impact," he said.

"We see budgets and thinking from all the defense forces around the world now shifting rapidly into the adoption¹⁶ and use of small drones," Chell added. "Not just for war fighting, but actually for logistics and for medical and for humanitarian¹⁷ aid."

Still, Ukraine wants more fighter jets to bolster¹⁸ its limited numbers of war planes. Specifically, Ukraine wants the American F-16, which typically requires years of pilot training. And like other Ukrainian fighter jets, it would be vulnerable to Russia's anti-aircraft systems.

Ukraine's Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, told NPR he doesn't think these reasons are valid¹⁹.

"When I ask about F-16, I never heard about a problem with the spare parts or the supply chain. The answer was normally, 'Oleksii, you know, it's a very long period of training courses for your pilots.'"

But President Biden has been clear. The U.S. is sending air defenses, but not fighter jets — which would put more vulnerable pilots and expensive planes in the sky.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 unleashes   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• These findings qualify the common view that economic growth unleashes myriad discontents. 这些发现，纠正了一个普遍观点，即经济发展使人们尽情宣泄不满。 来自互联网
• This caster unleashes a storm of electric discharge on the enemy. 法师向敌人释放出一片电火花的风暴。 来自互联网

3 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

4 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

16 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

17 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

18 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

19 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？