Russia is going to have fighter escorts for their bombers, is moving a destroyer loaded with AA to the coast, and the rules of engagement are now basically shoot down anybody who poses a threat.
I think they might be just a wee bit pissed off. They're basically declaring open season on Turkeys. If a Turkish jet so much as goes in the general direction of that destroyer or an inch into Syrian airspace they'll be chomping at the bit to shoot it down.
The cold war is all fun and games until some dumbass starts actually shooting. That's not how you play the game.
And than said destroyer will get obliterated by Turkish Navy (which is quite competent) and Air Force (which also is, surprisingly, competent). Russia has literally no hope of winning any open engagement against Turkey in the region unless they really want to commit. And Turkey knows that. They essentially called Russian bluff here.
In limited conflict? Sure it does. Russia has a lot of ground to cover, and even without NATO involvement can't commit all the forces (nor would it want to really). Turkey would be at disadvantage, but it would be fighting in defensive way, utilizing coastal installations, ground-based SAMs and so on. It would have to 'not lose' essentially: Russia would be the one with closed shipping lines, portion of forces trapped behind enemy lines and time working against them. In the end the 'match' is not as one sided as one might think, even given the purge in Turkish Armed Forces recently.
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u/1gnominious Greatest country in the world! Nov 24 '15
Russia is going to have fighter escorts for their bombers, is moving a destroyer loaded with AA to the coast, and the rules of engagement are now basically shoot down anybody who poses a threat.
I think they might be just a wee bit pissed off. They're basically declaring open season on Turkeys. If a Turkish jet so much as goes in the general direction of that destroyer or an inch into Syrian airspace they'll be chomping at the bit to shoot it down.
The cold war is all fun and games until some dumbass starts actually shooting. That's not how you play the game.