Russia's Life Fire Testing Range For Future Conflicts: Syria Moscow knows that practice makes perfect and it intends to use what it learned in Syria in future conflicts. Here's What You Need to Remember: Much as the Spanish Civil War served as a testing ground for Stukas and mechanized warfare tactics, the Syrian conflict was also exploited as a live-fire testing range for a new generation of Russian weaponry and operational methods. In 2008, military observers within and outside of Russia noted the poor performance of the Russian Air Force (VVS) in the five-day Russo Georgian War. In the aftermath of the conflict, Moscow instituted a vigorous new round of military modernization and reforms.