The aggressor’s first actions were the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. From this…
It’s hard to believe that in February 2022, the pilot with the call sign Yellow Tail was living a civilian life. After leaving the Armed Forces, he worked as a civilian pilot and instructor and thought his military service was over.
The pilot’s story was published by the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The canopy of the MiG-29 opens with a characteristic hiss. The airfield air, thick with the smell of jet fuel, instantly replaces the oxygen from the mask. Yellow Tail unbuckles his straps. His hands still remember the vibration of the control stick, and in his head still echoes the last maneuver — the evasion.
Today he worked on ground targets. As always, risky. He had to push the aircraft to the limit to escape a Russian missile. But somewhere beyond the front line the enemy’s command post is still burning. Which means it wasn’t in vain. This was his 300th combat sortie.
Before the full-scale invasion he taught people to fly and fall in love with the sky. Those were beautiful times, he says.
On the first day of the war, he called his commander and asked: “Is there a place in the formation?”
The answer was brief: “There’s a lot of work. Come”.
A few weeks later he took off from his home airfield once again.
According to him, at the beginning of Russia’s invasion they had no modern aircraft or missiles, and no experience with such a war. But war teaches quickly and ruthlessly.
“The main thing is not maneuvers, but the precision of the weapons, especially when striking ground targets. When you see the enemy attacking residential buildings, civilian infrastructure — you don’t need motivation. There’s a task. It has to be completed”, — the pilot says.
The results speak for themselves: numerous destroyed enemy command posts, drone operator positions, artillery depots, concentrations of “orcs” and their equipment.
For the pilot, the best reward is feedback from infantry — when the guys say things have become easier. Their thanks truly inspire.
When the conversation turns to the price of war, Yellow Tail’s voice becomes flat and dry. His eyes focus somewhere on the concrete of the runway.
“There are sorties you want to rip out of memory. Sometimes we take off as a group and one of us remains in the sky forever. When a missile is coming at you — it’s not like in the movies. It’s a short exam on survival. You maneuver at the limit of what the aircraft and your body can handle. And sometimes even that isn’t enough”, — the pilot says.
He pauses for a moment, weighing each next word.
“We remember everyone who didn’t return. But someone has to do this job — shooting down Shaheds, missiles, covering our troops. In the end, infantry in the trenches has it much worse than we do in the sky. We complete the sortie and return to the relative safety of the airfield, while they remain under fire”, — he notes.
Speaking about the young pilots now training for F-16s, Mirage-2000s, and Gripens, he is direct:
“They will have a different war. Aircraft with different capabilities. Better training. That’s good. It’s their time. But even the most modern equipment doesn’t change the main thing: every sortie is a huge risk where the price of a mistake is your life”, — he stresses.
Yellow Tail constantly emphasizes that a fighter jet in the sky is only one part of a system. He never stops reminding people about the technicians who prepare the aircraft in frost and rain, the guidance team, all those who remain in the shadows. War, he says, changes no one — it simply removes masks.
“Every sortie is the result of shared trust. We have no cowards. We’ve learned to hear and understand each other with half a word — from the gray-haired colonel to the young lieutenant,” the pilot says.
He still dreams of flying an Airbus A320, but those dreams are now in “standby mode”.
“I don’t make long-term plans now. Reality doesn’t care about our dreams. War teaches you to value simple things: good food, a warm shower, the chance to just be with your family and friends. You never know if you’ll see them tomorrow”, — the pilot concludes.
Yellow Tail leaves the runway, turning his MiG over to the technicians. Tomorrow will be his 301st combat sortie. And he will do everything to ensure it ends again with a short but crucial phrase — target destroyed.
