History
The Georgian Air Force and Air Defense Division was established on January 1, 1992. On August 18, 1998, the two divisions were unified in a joint command structure and renamed the Georgian Air Force.
The first combat flight was conducted by Izani Tsertsvadze and Valeri Nakopia on September 19, 1992, during the separatist war in Abkhazia. This date was later designated as the Georgian Air Force Day. Relative to the Georgian ground forces, the air force was comparatively underfunded following Georgian independence. During the August 2008 war with Russia, Georgian aircraft were initially active, but were soon grounded by Russian air superiority. The Russians claimed at least 3 Su-25 and 2 L-29 destroyed.. The Georgian Ministry of Defense reported 5 air force personnel were killed in action.
In 2010, the Georgian Air Force was reorganized. It was abolished as a separate branch and incorporated into the Georgian Land Forces as Air and Air Defense brigades.
Read more about this topic: Georgian Air Force
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