At the beginning of the 2010s, the Air & Space Force [AAE] had launched a recruitment campaign with the slogan: “To make our planes fly, you need an entire army”. It was a matter of insisting on the fact that everything did not rely on pilots and mechanics… but that, to function, it also needed specialists who did not necessarily have a direct relationship with aeronautics. [pompiers, informaticiens, fusiliers commandos, analystes du renseignement, etc.]. And this obviously also applies to other air forces.
However, it is different in Ukraine. Indeed, in a video broadcast via social networks on January 14, aeronautical technicians from the 114th Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force, which notably uses MiG-29 “Fulcrum”, claimed that their unit had received a message to ask him to transfer some of his aviators to the infantry. And this at a time when the situation has become critical in Donbass, where the Russian army continues to advance.
“Our unit received a telegram regarding the transfer of almost all technicians to the infantry, which means that we will be left without technical personnel to maintain our aircraft. Already, 250 people have been transferred. Now they plan to transfer 218 more. The technical staff is being destroyed and without us, aviation will not be able to function,” said these aviators. And this could only generate a lively controversy.
The transfer of specialized personnel from air brigades to ground forces units was confirmed by two Ukrainian sources to Forbes Ukraine. “The reason is obvious: the active offensive of the enemy, in the context of which the head of the armed forces, General Oleksandr Syrsky, must stabilize the front,” explained one of them. And to add that, “due to the failure of mobilization, there is a catastrophic deficit of combatants on the forward posts”.
Indeed, engaged in Kursk and the Donbass, the Ukrainian army must compensate for its combat losses [tués, blessés, prisonniers] while it faces high rates of desertions and/or abandonment of posts. Added to this are the difficulties in recruiting, the minimum age for mobilization still being 27 years old.
Regardless, the claims of the 114th Air Brigade airmen were confirmed by MP Mariana Bezuhla, from the same party as Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president. “In accordance with the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, technicians, mechanics and other specialists from the Air Force are being intensively transferred to the infantry,” she wrote, via Telegram.
-In addition, completes Forbes Ukraine, authorized by General Sirsky, this “large-scale” transfer would concern not only the fighter squadrons but also the air defense units, although they are in high demand with the large-scale attacks launched regularly by the Russian forces. .
According to Forbes Ukraine, a Ukrainian pilot, Ivan “Smereka” Smerechansky, denounced this practice via Instagram. “Training a technician takes at least three years. When you see our iron birds flying, shooting down enemy drones, destroying the enemy, it’s more than a pilot’s job. It is that of an entire system,” he argued.
Faced with the controversy, the Ukrainian general staff had to react, taking a step back. Thus, via a press release, he assured that there was no [ou plus ?] plan “aimed at transferring air force specialists who maintain aircraft to infantry units.” However, “certain categories of personnel […]after preliminary instruction in training centers, reinforce ground, airborne, etc. assault forces. “, he admitted.
“The situation at the front is not easy. There is a shortage of infantrymen in many regions. The decision to strengthen the ground brigades on the front line at the expense of units of other branches of the armed forces is a step that the military leadership is forced to take to strengthen our defense,” the General Staff explained.
The statement was issued after President Zelensky said he had asked military officials to “clarify everything” and “not reduce the number of specialists the Air Force needs to carry out its defense missions.” combat.”
However, such a practice is not unique to Ukrainian forces. In September, it was reported that sailors from the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which had been grounded for more than seven years, had been assigned to a mechanized battalion called Frigate, which was sent to fight in Kharkiv and Pokrovsk.
