1 dead pilot only.
Now I see it slightly differently, this stuff has been happening for a while now. Russia has obviously ignored the warnings, what other option did Turkey have? Either do as they said they would or back down and look like all the other countries that seem to cower from bully boy Putin.
The thing is, this isn't just happening in Syria, Russia has been sending long range recon aircraft to probe NATO airspace etc, things are starting to sound very much like the good old days of the cold war and I have no doubt that is exactly what Putin wants (to see Russia back as the military might it was of the days of the USSR).
Fact is that Putin is looking to expand his geopolitical power, I have no doubt that Russian forces in Syria are there for the long haul so airspace conflicts are guaranteed to happen, better they get this out of the way early, everybody learns what the boundaries are and then they can get on with it. This won't turn into a full blown war, more sabre rattling maybe and maybe some minor tit of tat kinda crap but that will be about it.
Putin doesn't want a full blown war with NATO, Russia just isn't up to it economically but he sure is interested in finding out exactly how far he can push his luck, this is the first time things haven't gone his way. Yes, shooting down of the aircraft probably was a bit extreme but something needed to happen, Putin has done many a dastardly deed and no one has opposed him other than some political mumblings from nations who's opinions Putin just really doesn't care for. Fact is that Putin really only seems to understand force, he's certainly happy to use it annex foreign territories but not so when he's on the receiving end.
Two things:
1. Everyone on the planet knows that Russia has sky gear everywhere, planes, orbitals, subs, etc. Just like everyone know that the US, the Brits and even Australia are doing covert skying themselves. Russia isn't shooting down NATO sky planes and the US isn't shooting down Russian planes. Even in the incident earlier this year I think where Russian jets came within 2km of a US aircraft carrier. Everyone had planes in the air, the Russias moved on and there where harsh words said.
Then stupid ass Turkey goes shooting down single plane over it being in their airspace for 10-30 seconds. It wasn't near anything of significance, it wasn't heading towards anything of significance, it was just chest beating and they shot it down directly resulting in the dead one one pilot and one Russian marine.
2. Rest assured, Putin doesn't care about the economic impacts. If there was a war, there would be no economy to worry about... GLOBALLY.
The final thing here being, Turkey did this ONLY because they know that the rest of NATO are BOUND to support them, even if they don't want to.
But by far the absolute worse thing about the situation, is just weeks ago there was a glimmer of hope that Russia was going to get serious about ISIS and by a miracle, potentially collaborate with the US and the rest of NATO is destroying that organisation. This was going to be awesome balls, because Putin would have walked hundreds of thousands of troops into the area and annihilated ISIS. Something that the rest of NATO cannot do due to the BS situation.
But with one swift and utterly selfish, egotistic and cowardly act, Erdogan has pissed all that away, potentially fractured the NATO alliance and pissed on one angry bear that has been largely dormant for a really long time.
Putin won't go to war with NATO, becomes he is bigger than his ego and won't destroy the world to prove a point. If we had the likes of Erdogan in control of a power like Russia, right now we would be facing the end of the world.
