Aerial warfare of the Zemplen War

Aerial warfare of the Zemplen War
Part of the Zemplen War
Two Syaran Zephyrs intercept two Ruvelkan Dragos.
Date 23 May 2008 – 19 July 2010 (2 year, 1 months, 27 days) Location Ruvelka, Syara Result Ruvelkan Victory
Belligerents
Ruvelka	Syara
Units involved
Ruvelkan Imperial Air Force	Commonality Air Force
Strength
1,893 combat aircraft (Peak)	2,141 combat aircraft (Peak)
Casualties and losses
493 fixed wing combat aircraft destroyed 633 helicopters destroyed 849 UAVs lost	525 fixed wing combat aircraft destroyed 383 helicopters destroyed 1,012 UAVs lost

Aerial Warfare in the Zemplen War began shortly fighting broke out in May 2008, but did not reach significant intensity until the August Offensive. Air combat and air operation subsequently became a constant affair throughout the duration of the conflict. Both the Commonality Air Force (Заедништво воздушни сили, Zaedništvo vozdušni sili, or ZVS) of Syara and the Ruvelkan Imperial Air Force (RIAF) fielded large air fleets of modern combat aircraft both domestically produced and foreign supplied. The RIAF and ZVS both engaged in air combat operations, close air support, aerial reconnaissance, and bombing campaigns designed to destroy enemy ground forces and inhibit the other's ability to make war.

The ZVS initially enjoyed the advantage in the air during 2008 owing to its' larger fleet and the destruction of many of the radar control stations the RIAF relied upon for coordination and operations. By 2009 however reforms to Ruvelka's air command and control, along with the withdrawal of much of its air fleet beyond the Kurilla Mountains, allowed the RIAF to swing the balance of power towards Ruvelka thanks to its larger supply of fighter jets. Neither side was able to gain air superiority throughout the conflict, though certain sections of the front could temporarily be dominated by one side by massing aircraft in the region. At their peak in mid-2009, both sides were carrying out nearly 10,000 sorties a day. Sortie rates and air combat operations began to decline shortly afterwards as shortages of pilots and airframes through attrition led to the decline in capability in both the ZVS and RIAF. By the end of 2009 both sides had largely sidelined major air operations in order to preserve their remaining fleets, leading the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces to established a front-wide "free fire zone" where virtually any aircraft detected would be fired upon by Syaran air defense systems and surface-to-air missiles. Air operations and sortie rates surged during Operation Homefront before the end of the war in July 2010.

The Air campaigns of the Zemplen War were the largest aerial operations in the history of modern warfare and immediately became the focus of much study and observation. The Zemplen War also saw the largest instances of "dogfights" between helicopters. Despite the frequency of air-to-air combat during the conflict, engagements between fighter aircraft only occasionally resulted in a shootdown, and the majority of aircraft lost were downed by anti-air or ground fire. A Syaran study published in 2014 stated that nearly 70% of aircraft shot down during the war could be attributed to anti-air weaponry, a calculation concurrent Ruvelkan studies have largely confirmed.