The Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Colonel-General Alexander ZELIN, has become a guest of the next issue of the Military Council program, which is aired on the Echo of Moscow radio station and the Zvezda TV channel.
Alexander Nikolaevich, let's start our conversation with a small excursion into the history of the Russian Air Force
- In the 12th year of the last century, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, when reporting to Nicholas II, made the following statement: without aeronautical units and units of the modern Russian army, it is impossible to achieve success in battles. And if this kind of troops is not created, then Russia will be defeated. Actually, after this report, a high decree was issued, which laid the foundation for the creation of the aeronautical forces of the Russian army.
What commands represent the Air Force today?
- Currently, the Air Force is represented by seven commands - the command of the long-range, military transport aviation, the command of the operational-strategic command of aerospace defense and four commands of the Air Force and air defense, which are directly located in the military districts.
Now there are no military districts. What has changed with the creation of the four Strategic Operations Commands?
- I would not say that. The military districts remained, their number decreased. Now there will be four military districts - these are territorial entities, the names of which have changed somewhat: the Western Military District, the Southern Military District, the Central and the Eastern … We foresaw that such changes would occur when the Air Force began to reform. Well, now, when the status quo has been determined, in all four military districts, united strategic commands, 4 commands have been created - the first, second, third and fourth.
Has the interaction with other branches of the Armed Forces changed in any way?
- I would replace the word “interaction” with “control”. Because interaction is practiced when there is no sufficient and stable command and control of troops.
So the first thing is management?
- Yes, the first is management. Now the system of management, the organization of the united forces in strategic directions, is radically changing, in fact, why this reform was supposed to be. Drafts of documents, a regulatory framework are being developed, they are discussed in the types, types of troops. The main normative document has been issued - this is the Decree of the President, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Now productive work is underway, where we express our views on the organization of command and control, primarily on the creation of a structure of joint strategic commands, on the role and place, of course, of large formations and formations of Air Force units in this organizational structure.
One of our listeners asks the question: "Does the Air Force help in extinguishing and detecting fires?"
- Actively, the forces and means that exist in the Air Force, with the exception of personnel and then in certain areas, did not solve this problem. The main task of the Air Force was focused on reconnaissance of fires and reporting to the relevant structures of the Ministry of Emergencies. Personnel were recruited to the focal points of fires, which were located near military units, to organize extinguishing the fires. I want to say kind words to the head of the Military Aviation Engineering University in Voronezh, the cadets of this educational institution for their active actions. They solved their problem.
But most importantly, what the Air Force was doing. We transferred engineering pipeline units and subunits to those places where there really was a critical situation, and Deputy Defense Minister Colonel-General Dmitry Vitalievich Bulgakov noted this.
The second is such a large-scale task. We have already issued over a thousand tons of aviation kerosene and other fuels and lubricants to the EMERCOM aviation. That is, the task that was posed by the Minister of Defense and the same Dmitry Vitalievich Bulgakov to me personally has been solved and continues to be addressed …
Do you have your own planes that are involved in firefighting?
- There are no special aircraft equipped with fire extinguishing equipment in the Air Force. But this is not our task either. In due time, filling aircraft devices for the Il-76 aircraft were manufactured. They also have documentation. As far as I know, such funds are available in the aviation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. And when there are such fires, such a single use of aviation does not give its result. I believe that it is necessary to massively, massively apply these means in order to fulfill the task of suppressing or destroying fire sites. IL-76 takes about 40 tons of water, and if there are 10-12 such machines, then you can imagine, immediately pour 400 tons on the place of the fire - this will already be the result …
Alexander Nikolaevich, do you have any general satisfaction with the level of engineering and technical development of aviation? We have traditionally been ahead of many in aerodynamics and lagged noticeably behind in terms of electronics. What is the situation now?
- There are breakthrough ideas in the fifth generation aircraft. They are incorporated into the entire armament complex that will be installed on this vehicle. The flight and tactical characteristics of our aircraft together with power plants - what we have demonstrated at all recent air shows, of course, are impressive. And despite the fact that our colleagues from the United States said that close combat has no prospects, nevertheless, the F-22 began to perform super maneuvers. We understand what this is for. Not to show off on the salons and show the flight characteristics of your car. This, I consider, as a fighter pilot, is a requirement of the times. This is the property of any aircraft that ultimately allows you to emerge victorious from air combat.
The very first task that was, besides reconnaissance, in those 98 years when the air battles began?
- Yes. There were also periods when cannon armament was removed from aircraft, and only missiles were used. Then we realized that no, the cannon armament must remain, and now not a single aircraft, either in our country or abroad, flies without a built-in cannon.
The super-maneuverability of the aircraft makes it possible to qualitatively change the combat capabilities of the aircraft, and increases the pilot's ability to realize the full power of the available weapon.
What can you say about the capabilities of the pilot himself? We need training, which must be constantly improved. What about the military schools now?
- We had a system for training military personnel back in the Soviet Union … But we are studying world experience. If we take the USA, Great Britain, France - there are no numerous educational institutions there. There, there are educational institutions for each type, but everyone is trained there. This interweaving of all specialists in one educational institution, I believe, is the future. By 2012, we will move to a unified military training scientific center for the Air Force. It will be created in Voronezh on the basis of the military university that now exists. It will include branches that will train pilot specialists and, for example, air defense specialists. We will build nearby, and, in fact, the Minister of Defense has already given the go-ahead for this, the main center for the combat use and retraining of flight personnel and military tests is on the basis of the center in Lipetsk. That is, we are moving towards consolidation, towards uniting all the specialties that exist in the Air Force.
But we train not only specialists for the Air Force, but also for all types and branches of the Armed Forces of Russia, for the power structures of the Russian Federation. I mean the flight personnel, engineering and technical personnel, which are directly available in the aviation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, in the aviation of the FSB, in the aviation of the Internal Troops.
That is, there should be a single form of training, a single level, a single understanding and vision of the task?
- It still exists. We concentrate all schools in one place. This military educational scientific center will simultaneously train up to 10 thousand people on a powerful modern educational and material base. In Voronezh, we plan to create a first-class aviation base; the Lipetsk center is located 90 kilometers away. That is, simultaneously with the study of theoretical issues, the necessary military training will also be here.
How intensive is the re-equipment now?
- According to the state armament plan, which has already been practically drawn up, in these 10 years we will re-equip front-line and army aviation by 100% and update military transport aviation by up to 70%. Modernization, renewal awaits strategic aviation as well. This is an objective reality. No matter how we want, any aircraft has a certain life cycle. There are certain boundaries that ensure the safety of the use or application of any aircraft.
The leadership of the Ministry of Defense decided that the Air Force, like air defense, is a priority type. And the issues of re-equipping the Air Force with new types of weapons will be implemented in the new state program.
Russian Air Force in Abkhazia. What is the situation and what are the problems that are being paid attention to?
- I don't see any problems with the Russian Air Force in Abkhazia. I think that we, together with the leadership of Abkhazia, must revive and ensure regular flights from the Babyshar airfield or the Sukhumi airfield so that normal, regular flights are carried out, so that Abkhazia can communicate with the whole world.
As far as the presence of units of the Air Force's anti-aircraft missile forces is concerned, this is, in principle, clear to everyone. We have appropriate agreements and are carrying out the tasks that are assigned to each service of the Armed Forces, including the Air Force. There is a task, we provide and solve it accordingly.
Do you have the feeling that an aircraft is a very vulnerable target in modern conditions, in modern wars? The guests of our program talk about how targets are hit, which move at a speed of under 3 kilometers per second. And the feeling that the plane is no longer difficult to shoot down. And the events in Georgia two years ago showed that without being hit by ultra-precise weapons, without achieving air superiority, it is practically impossible to be successful exclusively in air combat
- Of course, air supremacy is a task that presupposes having aircraft equipped and designed to counteract the means of which they are talking. But one of the main conditions for air supremacy is, of course, the destruction or defeat, or suppression of air defense systems. This is a very formidable weapon. Experience shows that, solving the problem of suppressing, destroying air defense weapons and having active weapons on board that would directly counter air defense forces, this task can be successfully solved in a complex. This is a complex task for any air force commander. This task, this problem exists not only with us, but in all countries in the Air Force.
And how is the protection of Moscow and its environs provided today?
- The condition and effectiveness of the air defense system of the central industrial region and mainly the city of Moscow is a priority task that is under the control of the Chief of the General Staff. The main emphasis is now being placed on qualitatively changing the system that exists for the air defense of the capital and the central industrial region. The new air defense system is already on alert. It will go directly to the troops. This is the S-400 system. Its further modification is being actively developed. Although you can even say not a modification - this is, in fact, a new complex with a new combat composition of weapons. In its ammunition, it has many times more active means in order to fulfill the task of air defense. And, finally, the S-500 system, which will solve the problem not only of air defense, but mainly of anti-missile defense. Until 2020, this system will be put into service with the Air Force.
Some experts believe that the S-500 is a weapon that goes practically into outer space. Are there any developments underway to create such aircraft that could be both airplanes and spacecraft and go into space?
- Naturally, they are. The whole world makes such developments. We are also leading them. We cannot lag behind.
Alexander Nikolaevich, I would like you to say a few more words about the international doctrine "Vigilant Eagle"
- All the tasks that were set in this exercise have been fully worked out by us. The main goals were to understand how to act in the event that an aircraft is hijacked by terrorists. We clearly needed to understand the transfer of a given aircraft from one state to another. How is the management carried out in this case. If it is necessary to stop, then how to do it. I think that it is impossible to close in this regard - we need to fly more together, work together, then we will be more understandable to each other.
How are things going with the number of our pilots now?
- We started flying more. Flight training is improving markedly.
And if we compare: how many hours did you fly in a year and how many fighter aircraft are flying now?
- Over the years, on average, if you distribute, when I was a pilot, then the flight time was a little more than 100 hours, well, about 120 hours. And when I was already an instructor, a commander, there, naturally, the raid was under 200, and sometimes over 200 hours. He was like that, because he had to train subordinate flight personnel.
And now how many pilots fly?
- Now, on average, front-line aviation has flown up to 80 hours. In army aviation, he has long been over 100 hours.
Are these indicators close to optimal?
- You see, there are two boundaries related to flight safety. When a pilot flies a little, it is very dangerous. But even when a lot of flies, it is also dangerous.
Relaxing?
- Not that it relaxes, just excessive permissiveness may arise. There is a medical established rate of flight time - depending on the type of aviation, it is about 100-150 hours. For military transport aviation, it takes 150-200-250. This is a normal bloom rate that allows the professional to maintain his level and perform the tasks assigned to him.
