> So one can only assume that either Russia's air defense isn't as good as everyone thought I think a big risk here is thinking that only Russia is less compet

> So one can only assume that either Russia's air defense isn't as good as everyone thought I think a big risk here is thinking that only Russia is less competent than advertised. My guess is that 90% of professional militaries (at least those without a LOT of active recent combat) are Potemkin villages wholly incapable of operating as advertised. Against any of those militaries, things which really should not work, frequently will work fine.