The war between Georgia and Russia is providing some interesting insights into problems of fighting with a partner in the former Soviet Union.

Russian Su-25 Frogfoot strike aircraft have twice bombed the Su-25 production facility at Tbilisi airport. And the Russian-designed air defenses (the same type that were shut down with apparent ease by the Israeli Air Force during last year’s raid on Syria) are being operated with great success by the Georgians.

Russia has admitted to losing a total of four aircraft (the Georgians claim 10) in the conflict. So far they’ve admitted to the destruction of three Su-25 Frogfoot strike aircraft and a Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber that was flying a reconnaissance mission.

Photos from the combat area show the wreck of the Tu-22 and a Frogfoot as well as a picture of the Backfire pilot in a Georgian hospital. The pilot was Colonel Igor Zinov, a 50 year old Tu-22M3 instructor pilot stationed at the Russian Flight Test Center at Akhtubinsk.  “Ergo, the Russians are using their A-Team, as expected,” says a U.S. analyst.

Other analysts say the Georgian’s are probably operating the SA-11 Buk-M1 (low-to-high altitude) and the (low-to-medium altitude) Tor-1M mobile air defense missile systems.

“The Russians have gone to great lengths to try and implicate the Ukraine in the Russian Air Force losses, even going as far as to suggest that an SA-5 sold to the Georgians by the Ukraine was responsible for the Backfire loss,” a second U.S. analyst says. “That's clearly not the case, but shows the Russian attempt to bring the Ukraine into the periphery of this event by implication, and to attempt to explain how one of their premier long-range attack assets could have been shot down so easily.”

So if the Georgians over-estimated their ground forces, “It appears that the Russians underestimated the Georgian air defense abilities in this conflict, and have paid the price,” the U.S. analyst says.

With reporting by Douglas Barrie and Robert Wall.

Two more photos: Backfire pilot and Frogfoot wreckage