Russia is using its bombing campaign in Syria to test new weapons and flaunt advances in its military capability — but also trying to conceal its reliance on older Soviet hardware, according to military analysts.
“This is essentially a proving ground,” said Michael Kofman, a fellow at the Kennan Institute, a Russia research centre in Washington.
Russia now has more than 30 combat aircraft operating from Latakia airbase in support of President Assad’s forces. However, Mr Kofman said Russia was well behind the US in its military capabilities, although it was doing “a pretty good job” in Syria.
Its campaign, launched on September 30, contrasts sharply with an “absolutely atrocious” performance by Russia’s air force during the five-day war in Georgia in 2008, when it lost seven jets, he said. “If you were to go back to 2008 and tell the Russian air force that in 2015 they would be deploying to another country, conducting night strikes with precision guided munitions and doing battle assessments with drones, it would sound like science fiction to them,” he added.
Russian Su-34 strike bombers are being used for the first time in combat in Syria, and some have been spotted with KAB-500S guided missiles, also not seen in action before.
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So far, however, the Kremlin’s greatest show of strength was the firing of 26 Kalibr cruise missiles from Russian ships in the Caspian Sea at what it said were Isis targets in Syria.
The Kalibrs, an equivalent to the US Tomahawk used during the Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq, flew 900 miles to their targets, far exceeding the limited range of export versions.
Nick de Larrinaga, Europe editor at IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, said the missile launch was “very stage-managed to produce an impressive visual display that strongly brought back the shock and awe days of the US military in 2003”.
He added: “This was more of a demonstration of strength and capability and for propaganda purposes than it was a legitimate military mission,” which could easily have been accomplished with aircraft.
Despite progress, however, Russia was still largely dependant on “legacy” Soviet planes and technology. “The vast majority of the ordnance carried under the wings of Russian aircraft is unguided,” he said.