US has rarely been tested. The last time they were was in Vietnam. they lost 3k fixed wing aircraft, 5k helicopters, 50k+ own troops killed, 200k+ puppet troops killed. Vietnam had 1% GDP and 10% population of the US.
If Russia lost 10% of that to Ukraine with 1/4 population and 1/8 GDP, it would be called a disaster.
The US media now claims that Russia has failed to achieve air superiority because Ukraine's air force still can make a few sorties.
By that standard, the USA never achieved air superiority over Vietnam. The USA never succeeded in eradicating the VPAF.
The VPAF made many more sorties than Ukraine's air force evidently is doing now.
"VPAF flew their interceptors with superb guidance from ground controllers, who positioned the MiGs in perfect ambush battle stations.
The MIGs made fast and devastating attacks against US formations from several directions (usually the MiG-17s performed head-on
attacks and the MiG-21s attacked from the rear). After shooting down a few American planes and forcing some of the F-105s to drop
their bombs prematurely, the MiGs did not wait for retaliation, but disengaged rapidly. This "
in the air" proved very
successful. In December 1966 the MiG-21 pilots of the 921st FR downed 14 F-105s without any losses.
The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy continued to lay down great expectations on the F-4 Phantom, assuming that the massive arms,
the perfect on-board radar, the highest speed and acceleration properties, coupled with the new tactics would provide F-4s an
advantage over the MiGs. But in encounters with lighter VPAF's MiG-21, F-4 began to suffer defeat. From May to December 1966, the
US lost 47 aircraft in air battles, destroying only 12 enemy's fighters. From April 1965 to November 1968, in 268 air battles conducted
over North Vietnam, VPAF claimed to have shot down 244 US or
(RVNAF) aircraft and they lost 85 MiGs.
...
According to
and
, the number of U.S. aircraft lost confirmed by themselves is unconfirmed since the
U.S. figures are also suspect. If a plane was badly damaged, but managed to land, the USAF did not count as a loss, even if it was too
damaged to fly again."
--Wikipedia
US propaganda and practically all popular American history books embellish American airpower's performances in Korea and Vietnam.
In the Korean War, the Americans did not score air victories at a ratio of 10-1 or 11-1, as usually claimed by American writers.
And, contrary to the myth that the USA never has bombed China, the USAF deliberately attacked targets well inside China.
In one American documentary, a proud American pilot condemned Chinese 'aggression' (his term) for daring to fire back
at American aircraft that were attacking an air base well inside China.
During the US war in Indochina, at least several American aircraft were shot down over Hainan.
At least one shot-down American airman was captured and detained in China until the end of war.
(The USA secretly negotiated with China for the release of American airmen shot down over Hainan.)
This chapter of history remains almost completely covered up or censored in the US media.
By the way, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) did receive some direct aid in its air defense.
China sent thousands of troops to help man flak or SAM batteries, which allowed Hanoi to send more men to the front.
For a few years, the DPRK (North Korea) sent an elite unit of fighter pilots (flying MiG-17s and MiG-21s) to Vietnam.
