It’s commonly said that Russian fighter pilots are not as well trained as their Western counterparts, particularly those from the United States. But after conspiracy theories began to surface on social media about the Russian pilot colliding with the MQ-9 on purpose so Russian vessels in the Black Sea could recover it, the question of pilot competency within the Russian armed forces became more important.

So how does Russian fighter pilot training compare to the United States? Let's investigate.

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Further Reading:
MQ-9/Su-27 interaction: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/russian-...


Citations:
Su-27: https://aerocorner.com/aircraft/sukho...
Russian spending: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1...
US fleet size: https://worldpopulationreview.com/cou....
RUS fleet size: https://www.globalfirepower.com/aircr...
PPP: https://knoema.com/atlas/Russian-Fede....
PPP Conversion: https://www.chrislross.com/PPPConverter/
Rand analysis: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand...
Air Force pilot training: http://sandboxx.us/blog/how-much-does...
AF pilot trng: https://sofrep.com/fightersweep/how-t...
AF Pilot trng: https://www.airforce.com/careers/avia...
IFF Course: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/PDF...
International Review: https://international-review.org/dwar...
US pilot hours: https://www.heritage.org/military-str...
US Pilot hours counterpoint: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air...
Vietnam: https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/more-tha...
Red Flag: https://www.nellis.af.mil/About/Fact-...
Red Flag costs: https://migflug.com/jetflights/red-fl...
Plopski quote: https://hushkit.net/2021/03/23/everyt...