AirDefense Academy · Contents · Chapter 6 · Nederlandse versie
Chapter 6: Doctrine & TTPs
Why the VKS operates as it does: the Soviet roots, the ground-oriented A2/AD role, the officer-led command culture, GCI, and the mathematical decision-making model.
6.1Doctrinal roots
Current VKS doctrine is directly rooted in Soviet and even tsarist military thinking.
Read §6.1 →6.2Ground-oriented air force & A2/AD
The VKS exists to support land operations and to deny its own airspace — not to independently win air superiority.
Read §6.2 →6.3Command-and-control culture
Officer-led, top-down and focused on rapid execution — "drills and skills".
Read §6.3 →6.4GCI, QRA & pilot employment
Russian fighters fly under tight ground control with short, fixed missions — no room for individual initiative.
Read §6.4 →6.5Decision-making: DPM & COFM
The Russian planning process is mathematical and formula-based — deliberately different from the NATO staff method.
Read §6.5 →6.6Strengths & weaknesses — Russian vs. NATO
The contrast between the Russian and the NATO approach to command can be summed up concisely:
Read §6.6 →6.7Future outlook
The modernisation direction: lessons from the Gulf wars, precision weapons and networked operations.
Read §6.7 →6.8Lessons from Ukraine (2022–2026)
The war tested the doctrine in practice — and confirmed both its strengths and its weaknesses.
Read §6.8 →6.9The stand-off strike package: the tactical group (ГТН)
How the Russian General Staff codifies coordinated stand-off operations — a mission package that combines striking, reconnaissance, jamming and protection.
Read §6.9 →6.10The reconnaissance-strike/fire complex (RUK/ROK)
The underlying loop behind all modern Russian fire: reconnaissance → decision → weapon, coupled as tightly as possible. Drones finally made this Soviet dream workable.
Read §6.10 →6.11The strategic deep-strike campaign: massed one-way-attack drones
Alongside tactical fire (§6.10) the VKS runs a strategic campaign: waves of cheap Geran drones and cruise missiles against the power grid, C2 and the defence industry deep behind the front.
Read §6.11 →6.12Long-range air-to-air: the R-37M as 'airborne sniper'
Without forcing air superiority, the VKS still manages to control Ukrainian airspace — with one very-long-range missile that pushes fighters to the deck.
Read §6.12 →