Media Release
13 August 2008
Contact: Mandy Castle
Jane’s Information Group
Press & PR Officer
+44 (0) 208 700 3745
amanda.castle@janes.com
Analysis on South Ossetia from Nathan Hodge,
Jane's Defence Weekly’s Land Specialist
London (12 th August 2008) Nathan Hodge, Jane's Defence Weekly’s Land Specialist commented, ”As Russia orders a halt to its offensive in Georgia, it is unclear how much remains of the Georgian army – and how severely its military capabilities have been degraded. But it appears certain that Russia is making a concerted effort to reverse Georgia’s military modernization and rearmament.”
“Over the past five years, Georgian defence budgets have risen dramatically, and the country has built a small, but well-armed force with updated equipment. In 2003, according to Georgian defence officials, the Georgian army’s budget was around 0.7 percent of the country’s GDP. By early 2006, that figure had risen to around 3 percent. In July, the country’s parliament approved a budget of just under USD1 billion – a fraction of Russia’s defence budget, but a significant rise for a country of its size.” Hodge further said, “Georgian ground forces have gained valuable operational experience through repeat deployments in support of the US-led coalition in Iraq. But Georgia’s military modernisation efforts are now increasingly at risk.”
The Russian incursion into Georgian territory – and the air campaign against Georgian military targets -- show a confident Russian military. This is not the degraded Russian military of the 1994-1996 Chechen War, when Russian fighting units were plagued by corruption, poor leadership and lack of funding. Since launching a second war in the North Caucasus in 1999, the Russian military has gained significant combat experience, through an often brutal pacification campaign. The breakaway republic of Chechnya – just over the border from Georgia -- has now reached a level of relative stability.
Hodge concluded, “Clearly, the Russian military is still capable of launching complex, combined arms operations. Its leaders have apparently studied the NATO air campaign over Kosovo and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition to targeting Georgian military sites, Russia has struck civilian communications infrastructure and airports and has staged an effective media campaign. Russia has apparently unleashed cyber warfare on Georgia, although it is unclear whether this has government backing or not. ‘Denial of service’ attacks have been staged on Georgian servers, and Georgian government sites have been repeatedly hacked.”
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Editor’s notes:
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Capability Assessment from Jane's Sentinel Country Risk Assessments
If you would like to use these figures please credit them to Jane's Sentinel Country Risk Assessments.
Georgia :
Total armed Forces Personnel: 26,900
82 - Main Battle Tanks (T-72)
139 - Armoured Personnel Carriers (BMP and BTR variants)
7 - Combat aircraft (Su-25 ground attack)
95 - Heavy artillery pieces (including Grad BM-21 122mm multiple rocket launchers)
Russia :
Total armed forces personnel: 641,000
6,717 - Main Battle Tanks (T-55, T-62, T-72, T-80, T-90)
6,388 - Armoured Personnel Carriers (BMP and BTR variants)
1,206 - Combat aircraft (Including: MiG-29 'Fulcrum', MiG-31 'Foxhound', Su-27 'Flanker', Su-30 'Flanker', Su-35 'Flanker', Su-24 'Fencer', Su-25 'Frogfoot', Su-34 'Fullback')
7,550 - Heavy artillery pieces (multiple types)
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