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I stumbled upon this and got to wondering how come russia screwed the air war during the 2008 war.
From wikipedia
"Air operations in South Ossetia
Russian aircraft—including Su-24, Su-25, Su-27 and Tu-22M models—started flying missions over South Ossetia in the early hours of 8 August. Targets inside Georgia proper were also bombed.[40] Some sources have claimed that Russia managed to establish air superiority.[46] However, according to CAST, Russia never gained air superiority in the South Ossetian theatre, as the Russian Air Force took early losses (3 Su-25s) to Georgian anti-aircraft fire, and was forced to stop making sorties for the rest of the battle. Citing eyewitness reports, CAST writes that "... there were no Russian aircraft over Tskhinvali on 8 August or the following day, that is, during the most critical period of the conflict. In effect, the Russian military command was forced to bring motor-rifle units into battle from the march, without first gaining superiority in numbers and firepower."[25] Russian aviation only reappeared on 10 August.[19] The Georgian troops had at least one battalion of relatively modern Buk-M1 self-propelled SAM systems, at least two battalions (a total of eight units) of Osa-AK self-propelled SAM systems and 6 to 10 of the upgraded Osa-AKM version. The Georgian army managed to deploy surprisingly strong, air defenses right in the conflict zone.[25]
The Russian Air Force made a total of 200 sorties during the war, including missions in Georgia proper. Due to the lack of night-vision equipment, it mostly operated during daytime, while the Georgian Air Force was able to operate at night as well. Problems in suppressing enemy air defences (partly due to lack of training in this role), meant that the Russian air force was unable to provide direct support to its own troops. Even by 11 August, Russia had not completely achieved air dominance, and the Georgian aircraft were still attacking Russian troops and Tskhinvali, according to International Institute for Strategic Studies.[19] Moscow Defense Brief strongly criticised the performance of the Russian Air Force, saying that there was a total absence of co-operation between the army and air force, and that of the total 6 Russian planes lost during the war, half were downed by friendly fire."
Even if the russia won the war eventually, how can they screw up so bad in the air?
From wikipedia
"Air operations in South Ossetia
Russian aircraft—including Su-24, Su-25, Su-27 and Tu-22M models—started flying missions over South Ossetia in the early hours of 8 August. Targets inside Georgia proper were also bombed.[40] Some sources have claimed that Russia managed to establish air superiority.[46] However, according to CAST, Russia never gained air superiority in the South Ossetian theatre, as the Russian Air Force took early losses (3 Su-25s) to Georgian anti-aircraft fire, and was forced to stop making sorties for the rest of the battle. Citing eyewitness reports, CAST writes that "... there were no Russian aircraft over Tskhinvali on 8 August or the following day, that is, during the most critical period of the conflict. In effect, the Russian military command was forced to bring motor-rifle units into battle from the march, without first gaining superiority in numbers and firepower."[25] Russian aviation only reappeared on 10 August.[19] The Georgian troops had at least one battalion of relatively modern Buk-M1 self-propelled SAM systems, at least two battalions (a total of eight units) of Osa-AK self-propelled SAM systems and 6 to 10 of the upgraded Osa-AKM version. The Georgian army managed to deploy surprisingly strong, air defenses right in the conflict zone.[25]
The Russian Air Force made a total of 200 sorties during the war, including missions in Georgia proper. Due to the lack of night-vision equipment, it mostly operated during daytime, while the Georgian Air Force was able to operate at night as well. Problems in suppressing enemy air defences (partly due to lack of training in this role), meant that the Russian air force was unable to provide direct support to its own troops. Even by 11 August, Russia had not completely achieved air dominance, and the Georgian aircraft were still attacking Russian troops and Tskhinvali, according to International Institute for Strategic Studies.[19] Moscow Defense Brief strongly criticised the performance of the Russian Air Force, saying that there was a total absence of co-operation between the army and air force, and that of the total 6 Russian planes lost during the war, half were downed by friendly fire."
Even if the russia won the war eventually, how can they screw up so bad in the air?
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