The Russian army is using retired pilots working for Wagnerʼs private military company because it lacks trained specialists.
This is stated in the summary of British intelligence as of June 24.
The use of retirees currently working under contract with the APC to carry out direct aviation support tasks suggests that the Russian Air Force is probably trying its best to support the invasion of Ukraine with a sufficient number of crews. This is probably due to the lack of properly trained pilots and Russiaʼs combat losses.
It should be noted that the Ukrainian military reported that they had captured the pilot of a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft, which was shot down on June 17. The pilot admitted that he was a former major of the Russian Air Force, who got a job in the "Wagner Air Force" and made several combat sorties.
British intelligence added that the Russian pilot used commercial GPS devices instead of Russian military navigation equipment to carry out his missions. This also indicates that Wagner aircraft are older models of the Su-25 and that the Russian Air Force does not provide air defense systems with modern equipment.