Don’t be so sure re air superiority.
The Turks outnumber the Russian airforce in Syria by 7-10:1
They have their own SAM systems that can keep Russian aircraft off.
And I doubt the Russian SAM system can remain up after suppression. The Turks have a lot of firepower.
You don't think Russia could easily augment their air power in Syria?
They could bring in 500 aircraft in 72 hours. And they could augment it with a full mechanized division, 300 helicopters and another dozen S-400 batteries.
And they could send 4 armored divisions to the Turkish border in the Caucasus. Sure, the Armenians might not be pleased but they would not attempt to stop it.
- The Turks have a lot of firepower.-
Russia has to do this on the cheap or Putin will face problems at home. Putin is already under much pressure because of his adventures in other areas. He has nuclear weapons and the Russians have already had lower level officials make veiled threats about world war. I expect that Russia could deploy and then use tactical nuclear weapons. They may first select a rebel target to serve as a warning. If that doesn’t keep Turkey and SA at bay then they would probably hit advancing columns.
The world does not seem to realize Putin-s resolve to win at any cost. Also, we have a weak and ineffectual president who Putin probably believes will not use nuclear weapons and who would still have no politically defensible reason to use them if Russia is careful in their first use.
Nuclear weapons have not been used by any party in the past because of an unspoken but understood belief that the United States simply would not allow it. But there is no longer any resolve behind the United States leadership. By abandoning the much hated hard diplomacy used by conservatives for the much vaunted lead-from-behind-smart-power preferred by liberals Obama is provoking the world into a much more dangerous standoff.