MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Up to 90% of the crews of Russian operational/tactical aviation and 85% of drone operators have gained combat experience in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting with military commanders on Wednesday.

"At our last year’s enlarged board meeting of the Defense Ministry, the supreme commander-in-chief noted the important role of this branch of the armed forces in the special military operation and set the task of further raising its combat capabilities and the level of the personnel’s preparedness," the defense chief said.

"During the special military operation, up to 90% of the crews of operational/tactical and army aviation, 60% of strategic and long-range aviation and 85% of the personnel operating unmanned aerial vehicles gained combat experience," Shoigu said.

In addition, pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces have flown over 140,000 sorties in the special military operation in Ukraine, destroying more than 20,000 enemy sites, he added.