According to various public sources, russia deploys approximately 300 aircraft of different types daily in combat operations against Ukraine. Meanwhile, the total military aircraft fleet of the aggressor state consists of nearly 1,400 units. This includes 1,169 aircraft within the russian Aerospace Forces and an additional 208 aircraft under the Naval Aviation of the russian Navy, as reported by The Military Balance 2024.
It is noteworthy that russia’s naval aviation is also actively engaged in the war against Ukraine, operating from airfields in temporarily occupied Crimea.
Read more: Defence24: 550 Out of 1,200 russian Aircraft Are Nearing End of Service Life
This raises a logical question: how does russia utilize the remaining nearly 1,100 military aircraft it officially possesses? On paper, this is a massive fleet that includes not only combat aircraft but also military transport and other support planes.

Some insight can be drawn from a publication by Defense News, which states that NATO’s air policing aircraft in Europe conducted 300 interceptions of russian military planes approaching Alliance borders in 2024. In total, NATO air policing fighters were scrambled 400 times throughout the year.
The numbers for 2023 were similar, with around 300 interceptions and approximately 400 sorties to identify aerial targets. However, in 2022, the number of interceptions reached a peak of 570 incidents.
From Defense Express, we emphasize that based on the data above, it might initially appear that the portion of russia's aircraft not directly involved in the war against Ukraine is being used to exert pressure on NATO’s eastern flank. However, the figure of 300 interceptions annually does not seem to align with the previously mentioned size of russia's military aviation fleet.

In this context, it is worth revisiting a publication by Poland’s Defence24 about the condition of russian military aviation, which we have analyzed in a previous article. To recap, it highlighted that 550 Soviet-era military aircraft in russia’s Aerospace Forces are nearing the end of their operational lifecycle, with at least 60 aircraft expected to be decommissioned this year.
The report also provided an interesting assessment: in the event of a “major war” against NATO, russia could actively deploy up to 400 combat aircraft of various types, including as many as 360 tactical aviation units. Additionally, it noted that the standard readiness rate for russian military aviation is estimated at 30–40% of the total fleet.

From the figures provided, the following conclusion can be drawn: Regarding its military aviation, russia concentrates its resources on maintaining the most combat-ready aircraft, which fall within the aforementioned 30–40% readiness rate. These aircraft are employed either in the war against Ukraine or for demonstrating presence near NATO borders.
Simultaneously, russia may have deliberately opted to “conserve” the resources of its Soviet-era aircraft, which the domestic defense industry no longer produces (e.g., Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, MiG-29, and MiG-31BM). This would ensure a reserve of aircraft for potential deployment in a full-scale conflict against NATO.
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