While Georgia's military has grown since its post-modern independence in 1991, its expansion has primarily been focused on its Army. The Georgian Air Force, approximately 1,000 personnel total in 1995, had grown only to approximately 1,350 personnel by the beginning of 2008. Purchases of additional and newer equipment were small.
The core of Georgia's air force centered on a small number of Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft. Georgia had been home to State Aircraft Factory 31, established in Tblisi in 1970, which manufacturered the Su-25 aircraft after 1984. While the Georgians were quick to assume control of the plant in 1991, it had ceased operations prior to then and much of the equipment removed. While the Georgians eventually assembled some of the aircraft that had been abandoned at the plant, they lacked even appropriate paint, operating them initially in whatever camoflage scheme they had been found in, or without a finish at all. Reports of a small number of Su-17 attack aircraft and Mig-21U fighter aircraft also appear, though these may have also been at Factory 31, unassembled. The Georgians were said to have kept in storage a number of unassembled aircraft found at the plant after independence. By 2001 the Su-17s were listed as still in inventory, but not operational by the International Institute for Strategic Studies' publication The Military Balance. A small number of Mi-8/17 helicopters were also impressed into Georgian service, likely in various states of operational readiness.
good!
ReplyDelete