Though its methods may be difficult to decipher, the Soviet Air Force has a clear idea about how to ensure that its fighters show up for a war. READINESS, SOVIET STYLE BY RICHARD D. WARD OR ALL too many Western ana- • Low vulnerability, with forces F lysts, the Soviet tactical fighter able to move to and operate from force apparently has become a mili- austere, dispersed bases devoid of tary riddle wrapped in a strategic maintenance facilities. mystery locked inside a readiness • Extensive reinforcement pow- enigma. ers, with thousands of warplanes in Misreadings of Soviet airpower reserve for swift deployment to for- are widespread. The illusion that ward locations. the Kremlin has built a ramshackle The system that produces these force of second-rate fighters masks benefits is complex and alien to the disquieting reality that Mos- Western thought. But an analysis cow's air arm fits its war plans with focused on the aviation support sys- great precision. tem of a Frontal Aviation air reg- Western skeptics seeking to make iment illustrates the point that Sovi- the case against Soviet fighters cite et fighter readiness procedures very high overhaul rates as "Exhibit mesh well with Soviet objectives. A." This, they conclude, can only Those objectives are based on mean that the aircraft are of inferior elements of surprise. In the Soviet quality. view, this requires the ability to In fact, close examination reveals launch or respond to an attack from The USSR keeps its such maintenance to be deliberate, a "standing start," without mobi- planes in constant re- pair. This system keeps the key to a highly unusual war- lization; the ability to protect Soviet close to ninety-five per- readiness system. Far from failing forces by dispersing them widely cent of front-line, de- to achieve high peacetime fighter across European bases; and the ployed fighters ready for durability, the USSR keeps its ability to exploit initial successes of war on Day One. The So- planes in constant repair to ensure a swift attack by rapidly bringing viets—and their allies— also take an innovative their reliability in wartime. Benefits back-up forces to bear on the main approach to ground that flow from this system are action. equipment. For example, many: the ladder being used • High warplane availability, with Unusual Maintenance Cycle here by an East German mechanic to work on the some ninety-five percent of front- The Soviet Union's unusual and vertical stabilizer can line, deployed fighters ready for war much-misunderstood maintenance also be used by the pilot on Day One. cycle provides the key to all three for cockpit access. 50 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1989 objectives. In fact, the frequent overhaul of Soviet fighters is the basis of the Soviet operational ap- proach to readiness. In simplest terms, the cycle can be broken down into three distinct segments: operational aircraft de- ployed at the main base, a complex of large overhaul and repair facilities based in the rear, and a material re- serve stockpile of refurbished weap- ons. The cycle works this way. When an operational aircraft comes due for an overhaul, it is withdrawn from action and replaced with a new or totally refurbished fighter drawn from the strategic stockpiles. The inactive fighter is then shipped to an overhaul facility for a thorough re- habilitation. Once that is complete, the renovated warplane is itself transferred to the stockpile, avail- able for future deployment as a re- The Soviets view the M1G-23 Flogger and its support truck together as the Flogger placement for some other plane. Weapons System. The truck tows the aircraft and functions as a tool chest and a storehouse for test equipment. This arrangement provides efficient support to the When that happens, the cycle be- aircraft both on the main operating base and at any dispersed location. Note the gins again. concrete slabs used for ramps and taxiways at the bare-base location. In stark contrast with Western maintenance practice, however, overhaul takes place after an air- The Soviets maintain a single lo- How "Overhaul Factories" Work craft logs only a few hundred hours gistics support organization, known It is at this strategic level of orga- of flight time. The figure in the West as "Rear Services" or, in Russian, nization that total fighter overhauls is usually several thousand hours. "Tyl." It supports all five of the So- are performed. The Soviets main- This short cycle for Soviet air- viet military services. Rear Ser- tain entire facilities, known as craft, however, stems not from the vices functions are divided into two "overhaul factories," to carry out failure of Soviet components. What principal areas: the Military Central this task. These factories, located needs to be understood is that the Support System and the Field Lo- primarily in the Soviet Union, em- Soviet equipment is returned for gistics Support System. ploy more than 100,000 IAS work- overhaul at the peak of its reliability. Each Rear Services support level ers, most of them former aircraft The Soviets have determined how provides repair installations for So- maintenance troops. many hours each weapon can be ex- viet fighter aircraft. However, be- The principal function of these pected to last in war. By subtracting cause of differences in service centralized, air-army-level overhaul that number from total hours of reli- equipment, each branch has sepa- factories is to renew airframes and able life in an aircraft, they deter- rate engineering support units— aircraft components. In most cases, mine the time at which an overhaul troops who actually perform main- overhaul facilities are former pro- must be performed. This takes tenance. In the Soviet Air Force, duction plants with machinery for place even if the aircraft happens to Aviation Engineering Services the same models still in place. In be working extremely well. (IAS) is responsible for all levels of some cases, current production The overall system ensures that aircraft maintenance. plants are used to overhaul aircraft aircraft equipment goes to refur- At the highest, "national-strate- on lines even as new production bishment immediately when its al- gic" level of organization, the Mili- models continue to roll from adja- lowable peacetime flight hours have tary Central Support System is re- cent assembly areas. been accumulated. This overhaul- sponsible for material acquisition, The Field Logistics Support Sys- before-needed philosophy is in through either the civil economy or tem functions below the national keeping with the Soviet dictum that military procurement agencies. level. It is responsible for opera- all fighter equipment provided to This system is also responsible for tional and tactical-level support of the regimental commander must be maintaining strategic reserve stock- the armed forces. One half of the reliable for a specified period. piles. Soviet storage depots stock Field Logistics Support System, With so much Soviet mainte- 13,000,000 metric tons of arms and called the Operational Logistic Sys- nance being performed at rear in- ammunition and 60,000,000 metric tem, supports fronts, armies, corps, stallations, the Soviet military has tons of fuel, oil, and lubricants. This and divisions. Operational re- developed a gargantuan, highly or- is enough reserve war material to serves—stockpiles of combat-ready ganized, specialized system to car- support intense offensive opera- weapon systems—are positioned at ry it out. tions for up to ninety days. this level. 52 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1989 Within this system, the IAS oper- viet aircraft are available for combat only for a postulated combat life and ates Air Division repair depots, right away and have the staying with sophistication commensurate which perform major maintenance power to last for some time. with the technical qualifications of tasks just short of complete over- If strikes originate from the main the maintenance personnel who are hauls. Most weapons parts needing bases, the aircraft will be launched operating under the stress of war. repairs are crated and sent to rear- very rapidly, alternating from both For example: On every Soviet echelon depots rather than to facili- ends of the runway to minimize ex- fighter, one can remove the after- ties at a forward operating base, as posure time and maximize deploy- burner without having to disconnect would be the case in the West. ment rate. When the sorties start, fuel and electrical lines—a great ad- The other half of the Field Logis- the expectation is that at least vantage when it comes to wartime tics Support System, the so-called ninety-five percent of the combat repairs. Realizing that this is the Tactical Logistics System (TLS), aircraft on each air base would be most frequent maintenance task, supports smaller units such as air flying. the Soviets have simplified it. regiments and battalions. War re- In peacetime, only a small per- Soviet military planners have en- serve stockpiles at this level include centage of Soviet fighters is used for hanced operational effectiveness by expendables such as fuels and lubri- training, the bulk of the training tak- carefully balancing performance cants, munitions, food, water, and ing place on simulators. The train- against readiness. Without doubt, material goods. These are stored on ing aircraft never dip below wartime readiness is the primary considera- motor transports or in containers service hours. Unused standby air- tion, a fact reflected in the rugged- sized for truck and train transport. craft are maintained in a "run-in" ness of Soviet planes. In the words The TLS directly supports air op- state, keeping Soviet air squadrons of one analyst: "The Soviets can erations, a task critical to readiness at almost full strength on a constant 'turn' these aircraft [for combat] of Frontal Aviation units.