Russia shot down its own planes in Georgia

BBC:

A report in a Russian military journal claims that half the planes Russia lost in its war with Georgia last year were shot down by friendly fire.

The article, in the Moscow Defence Brief magazine, also claims that Russia lost a total of six military aircraft, two more than it is admitting to.

The report is highly critical of Russian forces during the brief war.

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The report was written by the respected Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategy and Technology (Cast).

Cast gives detailed information about each of the losses, including times, locations and the names of the pilots.

It is also highly critical of the Russian military.

It says there was a total absence of co-operation between the Russian army and the Russian air force, which led them to conduct completely separate campaigns.

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Russian military officials deny the accuracy of the report. I think it is plausible. They were facing a much weaker foe and suffered significant losses of air planes. Other equipment used by the military also appeared dated and inadequate. Because they had overwhelming force they were able to overcome these inadequacies. To paraphrase Napolian, God is usually on the side with the most battalions.