The U.S. Air Force has officially stated that during the operation, they have recorded from 800 to 1000 starts anti-aircraft missiles. According to Soviet data , only 266 were fired missiles. Of course, some Vietnamese overstated the amount they downed B- 52, but at the same time and the data on the losses the U.S. Air Force aircraft should also be approached with caution. It's not only about the desire to understate their losses and inflate the opposition of the enemy, but also in the features of data collection : for example, if the U.S. aircraft was damaged as a result of enemy air defenses so that he could not be repaired , but the pilot managed to land it , then it was not considered a loss . American pilots , each separately , fixed all the launches of enemy anti-aircraft missiles that they noticed during the flight - in this case , if one saw the launch of several pilots , this figure are summarized . American system of electronic surveillance (ELINT) could detect signs of starting, but not the start, and these false positives may be too much, considering the difference between the anti-aircraft missile and rocket artillery ordinary . Aircraft could be lost from radar screens due to the action of active interference, and their disappearance could be regarded as the destruction , in addition, there have been cases of several successful start-ups at the same target , with each payment recorded a victory in their asset . And, of course , there is a need to inflate trivial losses of the enemy from their own weapons and, conversely, to understate the combat effectiveness of the enemy - it is equally characteristic of the Vietnamese and American side. It is here that Gro and Drenkovski make reference to Soviet sources , for only they , in their view , provide accurate information on the number of fired missiles , which is not surprising - they had to regularly submit data on their command of the flow rate. But at the same time, Soviet military experts , not being able to check for yourself , fell to their plane shot down or he was able to withdraw from the attack shelling , largely dependent on the numbers, which will provide them with the side .