Over 90% of Military Pilots Have Combat Experience, Says Russian Defense Ministry

Over 90% of military pilots possess combat experience, with some having completed 400 combat flights. This was announced by the Russian Defense Ministry, with Army General Sergey Shoigu speaking on the "Rossiya-1" channel, as reported by TASS.

The Minister emphasized that the Russian army currently has a very high combat morale. "More than ninety percent of our pilots have combat experience—some with a hundred, others with four hundred combat flights. This, of course, is a completely different army," said Shoigu during the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" broadcast.

According to the Ministry of Defense, almost all commanders of various levels, from battalions to brigades, divisions, and chiefs of staff, including even the commanders of companies, have undergone operations in Syria.

The Minister also discussed the necessity of planning regarding which weapons will be utilized in the future, as well as the number of cadets that should be admitted to higher educational institutions to operate these weapons. "If seven years ago we had a shortage of flight personnel by about 1,400 pilots, today, of course, both the army and the industry have completely changed," he stated.

Shoigu clarified that this is the result of planned stable work conducted during presidential military meetings over the past years.