A US Air Force F-22 Raptor flies over the Arabian Sea in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, Jan. 27, 2016. US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Corey Hook
Alex Lockie, Business Insider: Here's how an air war between Russia and the US in Syria would go down
After the US downed a Syrian jet making a bombing run on US-backed forces fighting ISIS, Russia threatened to target US and US-led coalition planes West of the Euphrates river in Syria.
But while Russia has some advanced surface-to-air missile systems and very agile fighter aircraft in Syria, it wouldn't fare well in what would be a short, brutal air war against the US.
The US keeps an aircraft carrier with dozens of F/A-18E fighters aboard in the Mediterranean about all the time and hundreds of F-15s and F-16s scattered around Turkey, Qatar, and Jordan.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: This .... in a nutshell .... is why Russia will not engage against the U.S. in Syria ....
.... According to Omar Lamrani, a senior military analyst at Stratfor, a geopolitical analysis firm, Russia has "about 25 planes, only about ten of which are dedicated to air superiority (Su-35s and Su-30s), and against that they’ll have to face fifth-gen stealth fighters, dozens of strike fighters, F-15s, F-16s, as well as B-1 and B-52 bombers. And of course the vast US Navy and pretty much hundreds of Tomahawks."
In short .... it all comes down to numbers.
10 comments:
THis is utter foolishness. The people who write this stuff think the Russians are stupid and/or cowards and that the US can do anything it wants because of its military power. But the Russians are not stupid. Look at how Putin responded to Turkish shootdown in November 2015. Erdogan went from being a supporter of anybody-but-Assad in Syria to working with the Russians in trying to reduce the violence in the western part of the country. Putin accomplished that by taking measures that caused Turkey more pain than a conflict would be worth, but left him an easy way out. Erdogan chose the easy way out because it was cheaper for Turkey. And while the US may have all of the military power, it hasn't won a war since the invasion of Grenada in 1983! So while military power is important, being smart about the consequences of its use is even more important. A US-Russia conflict in Syria would result in a war that would be highly destructive and could result in the end of human civilization. People like Alex Lockie, who spend so much time spinning war fantasies, should be made to understand that.
No, no, no!
This is all wrong!
Listening to Omar Lamrani! Really!!!
Where is B. Poster when you need him!
;>)
No one said the Russians are stupid.
They just said Russia does not have the numbers currently.
I for one have a healthy respect for Russian aviation, naval ships, and armor.
The U.S. won Gulf War I & Gulf War II FYI.
After Gulf War II there was a short period of peace during which the Muslim CINC decided to pull out.
The peace was squandered; the war was not lost.
After the USSR won WW2, they fought for several years afterwards in the Ukraine. So would Carl say they did not win WW2 in 1945?
Just asking.
@Carl:
USA is a global superpower
Erdogan is a wannabe caliph at the head of a country that isn't even the best in the region
Aizino,
"Where is B.Poster when you need him?" To funny. Lol!!
Actually what Carl writes is generally spot on. There's little to add except a reminder of what I've long been pointing out here and elsewhere which is the tendency of pundits and US leadership to overestimate our capabilities while underestimating those of adversaries and potential adversaries. While numbers are certainly important, training and leadership are also important.
Now as for your second comment regarding a "healthy respect" for Russia. I think we can agree on this. As such, reckless actions that inflame Cold War 2 are an extremely bad idea. As I've pointed out before, we can't afford it, we lack the resources to prosecute it effectively, and we don't need it.
Gulf war 1 & 2 with every card and advantage in their favour, and a LOT of foreign military aid in 1.
Is it not arguable that gulf war 2 was lost the minute they dismantled the iraqi military leading to the current mess.
Leaving a stabilization force of 5 to 10k would have prevented Mosul being taken.
A lot of 2nd and 3rd rate militaries do a lot better if they are stiffened with better troops.
The Italian troops did better in the Afrika Corps than they did on their own.
If the military had not been disbanded, then we might have heard stories of Shia recruits 'disappearing' etc. Alternate history and what ifs are hard. I think Bremer made the wrong call, but I am not as sure about it as I was 5 years ago or so.
What happened to the family to Fuhrer Bunker bomber after the allies were 'firmly' in control? My point is that maybe in part we drew the wrong lesson from Germany. People were suppose to be given up and they were not.
I will say it again, the Russians are not stupid and are overrated. If the Russians did something stupid like fire on our jets, they would lose and lose badly and they know it. 1) They do not have the numbers there, we do, 2) We are better trained and more experienced 3) When is the last time they shot down an enemy aircraft (officially ww2, but probably either Korea or less Vietnam). The Russians are surrounded in Syria by NATO and they know we can shut them down there if they did something stupid. IMO
Problem is Russia has the stomach for a fight and the resulting casualties, and does not give a crap about domestic political fall out, the U.S fails on the above.
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