performance of Equipment in Georgia-Russia War

[Scarecrow]

Not to be too morbid here, but since this is the military forum it is the place to put this thread.

it seems as though Israel supplied a weapon that works very well against Russian Armor and vehicles. I will provide links as I find them. Also it seems that Russian Aircraft were downed at a high rate and precision bombing isn't used by Russia.

if anyone has any performance links or pics of COMBAT please post them here.

Please remember that this isn't a Political Debate here, this is an eval of Russia and Georgia's military. Cold, yes I know. I guess it is just the solider in me.

[spejic]

The Georgian air defense seems to be doing well with Russian equipment. They did many of the same things as the Serbs did in the battle over Kosovo - smart local control over each station in conjunction to an overall plan and minimal network communication. This is in contrast to the standard Russian system of central control and reliance on a complicated communication system which was useless for the Syrians when the Israelis bombed the reactor recently.

One of the aircraft shot down was a Tu-22 piloted by a 50-year old instructor (http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/AIR08118.xml&headline=Georgia%20Strikes%20Back%20With%20Air%20Defenses&channel=defense). Russia has a small number of very good soldiers with a very large number of not very good ones. It seems that Russia sent their A-Team into the contest. Clearly they were ready for a while for any opening to strike. Whomever OK'd the Georgian advance should be fired.

Out of a cannon.

[AngryMobRun]

The first major cyber attack in history kept the Georgians from communicating via e-mail.

[FCLouie]

The first major cyber attack in history kept the Georgians from communicating via e-mail.

True, and something I meant to comment on at the time. It was the first, that I know of, a DOS attack to suppress an enemy C&C in coordination with a ground assault. The era of cyberjamming has begun! Let there be confusion!

I have a feeling the Georgian government is considering a "private net" similar to what the US DOD has. Sure, the Georgian press and people will be in the dark but the military will be able to centrally manage the incursion.

This leads to a couple of questions that don't relate to just Georgia, but any country that has a sufficient suppression of it's network.
How would it matter?
If the press fails to confirm what the military feeds it, do they trust what they hear?

Once the press is lost to confusion panic, the public is soon to follow. Then it's only a matter of time before the military becomes actively mismanaged by politicians, leading to a collapse of the defense. Fortunately for Georgia, they had local commanders that were able to think on their feet, standing up rather well to the Russian forces. (Okay, they didn't get totally pancaked by the Russians, that has to count for something...)


Sometimes I wish I work for a civilian intelligence company, so I could literally write a book about what happened in this conflict. Very important opening salvo in what I see as a pending cyberwar.

[Scarecrow]

This site has some images from the conflict:
http://englishrussia.com/?p=2010#more-2010

This image here shows the myth of ERA in real world combat.

http://englishrussia.com/images/ossetiya/7.jpg

http://englishrussia.com/images/ossetiya/8.jpg

[DoyleG]

One of the aircraft shot down was a Tu-22 piloted by a 50-year old instructor (http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/AIR08118.xml&headline=Georgia%20Strikes%20Back%20With%20Air%20Defenses&channel=defense). Russia has a small number of very good soldiers with a very large number of not very good ones. It seems that Russia sent their A-Team into the contest. Clearly they were ready for a while for any opening to strike. Whomever OK'd the Georgian advance should be fired.

Out of a cannon.

The Russians, from one BBC documentary, went into a town with a full convoy with two generals at the head.

They did no reconnisance and drove straight into a Georgian ambush, losing several vehicles in the process.

[spejic]

This image here shows the myth of ERA in real world combat.It works, just against a certain class of projectiles and not everything.

[spejic]

They did no reconnisance and drove straight into a Georgian ambush, losing several vehicles in the process.Yes, they were stupid and innocent and had broken equipment and everything that happens to a poor nation that does not fight often.

But they still walked. As some guy once said, quantity has a quality all its own.