Milos Sipos – författare

Frequently overshadowed by rival designs of the Mikoyan i Gurevich Design Bureau, the family of fighter-bombers of the aircraft design bureau headed by Pavel O. Sukhoi and developed in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are far less-well-known in the West. Reestablished in the early 1950s, the Sukhoi Design Bureau initially followed the same path as its primary competitor and designed two fighters, one equipped with swept wing, and the other with delta-wing. In the West, they became known under the ASCC/NATO-codename ‘Fitter’.Through the 1960s, and unlike MiG, Sukhoi continued developing its ‘Fitters’, resulting in an entire family of airframes, equipped with ever better avionics and more powerful engines. Its Su-7BMKs (ASCC/NATO-codename ‘Fitter-A’) entered service with Egypt in 1966, Syria and Iraq in 1967, followed by Algeria a year later. In 1972–1973, Su-17, and then Su-20 – the second generation of this design, and the first equipped with variable-sweep wing – entered service in Egypt, followed by Iraq and Syria. Finally, in 1978–1979, the third and final generation – including variants such as the Su-22, Su-22M, Su-22M-3, and Su-22M-4 (ASCC/NATO-codenames ‘Fitter F/G/J/K’, respectively) – entered service in Iraq, followed by Libya, Syria, and Yemen. Highly appreciated – and often outright beloved – by their pilots and ground crews alike, they formed the backbone of the fighter-bomber fleets of these six air forces, and saw action in about a dozen different wars.Richly illustrated with a host of exclusive photographs and custom-drawn color profiles, Fitters of the Middle East is the first title ever offering a comprehensive and inclusive operational history of ‘Fitters’ with six major air forces. As such it is an indispensable single-point source of reference.

An in-depth analysis of the air conflict between Russia and Ukraine, exploring the failures and successes of both sides' air forces and their impact on the ground campaign.On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. Coming after years of tensions following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and thinly veiled direct armed support for separatists fighting in Donbass and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, observers gave Ukraine’s military little chance of surviving the initial Russian onslaught. Yet the Russian forces failed to deliver a decisive blow in the opening air or ground campaign. Volume 6 of War in Ukraine examines the air war between Russia and Ukraine during February and March of 2022.In order to explain the failures of the Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS) in the opening moves of this war, this volume undertakes a detailed examination of the history, technology and doctrine of the Soviet and Russian air forces from the late Cold War up to the eve of the 2022 invasion, along with the opposing air force and ground-based anti-air defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Zbroiynyhsyl Ukrayini, ZSU).Building upon the general account of the opening moves of this conflict contained in Volume 2 of War in Ukraine, this volume presents a detailed account of the successes and failures of each side in their use of air power and how this impacted upon the ground campaign.War in Ukraine: Volume 6 The Air War February–March 2022 is illustrated throughout with full color photographs, specially commissioned maps, and the @War series’ signature color artworks showing the aircraft of this ongoing conflict.

Continues the detailed military history of this ongoing conflict, the largest in Europe since the end of the Second World War in 1945.On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. Despite all predictions to the contrary, Ukraine survived the initial blow and repelled Russia’s attempts to seize Kyiv. As the war on the ground expanded from March through to June of 2022, so also it expanded in the air, and Russia’s Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS) fought the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Povitriyani syly Zbroiynyh syl Ukrayini, PSZSU).Although largely outclassed in air-to-air combat by more advanced Russian aircraft and missiles, the PSZSU continued to fight an uneven contest using its manned aircraft and ground-based air defences to deny total control of the air to the VKS. Using aircraft from rough forward operating bases and learning to conduct missile engagements using guerilla tactics to avoid Russian suppression of enemy air defence missions, Ukraine inflicted painful losses on the enemy, but not without suffering many downed aircraft, destroyed missile systems, and personnel casualties in return. On the other hand, the VKS was often just as hampered by its own muddled leadership, flawed doctrine, and lack of a clear Russian airpower strategy that rendered it closely tied to the ground war and unable to exert a decisive influence on the conflict.In parallel to the air campaign, a war of rockets and missiles was being waged against tactical, operational and strategic targets on both sides that saw extensive use of artillery rocket systems, and ballistic and cruise missiles launched from the ground, at sea and from the air. While many of these missiles would be defeated by air defence systems, or simply miss their targets, others would inflict heavy damage.Volume 7 of the War in Ukraine strand in the Europe@War series draws on a wide range of sources to provide a detailed examination of the military aspects of the air and missile campaign that developed in the skies above Ukraine between March and June 2022. It includes overviews of the weapons systems employed by both sides, analysis of the tactics, and of the successes and failures of both sides, and a detailed account of the campaign for Snake Island that would see the sinking of Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.War in Ukraine, Volume 7: Air and Missile Warfare, March-June 2022 is extensively illustrated throughout with original colour photographs, maps, diagrams and specially commissioned colour artworks illustrating this military campaign in the air.