Before Syria, Russia Struggled to Land Air Strikes on Target by Margarita Antidze and Jack Stubbs, Reuters
… Until Russia launched its military operation in Syria last month, the war in Georgia was the last time its air force had conducted air strikes in combat.
There are differences between the two campaigns. Russia's military has undergone major modernization since the Georgian war. Unlike in Georgia, in Syria there are no anti-aircraft missiles shooting at Russian jets, which allows them to take their time lining up their targets.
But there are similarities too, so the performance of Russian aviation in the Georgia conflict could shed light on the operation in Syria, where making an independent assessment of the Russian strikes on the ground is impossible.
In particular, despite the advent of precision guided weapons in Russia's arsenal, the majority of the munitions being launched in Syria are still the "dumb bombs" which in Georgia contributed to the off-target strikes…