In a civil war yes, but in that scenario the Russians would be supporting the Syrian government anyways. Against protesters it would be like trying to hunt pidgeons with a howitzer.
Russia still have to consider possible reign change, international pressure and stuff.
Yes, for civil unrest TACAIR is a little out of its comfort zone. However if we end up seeing actual fighting between opposing 'armies' then teh A2G capability of the MiG 29M will be very handy.
Kh series of missiles
Bashar al-Assad may think those last two are handy for clearing the streets of "armed goons"... who knows?
Hardly necessary, although possible.
Yes. But the new regime will also be desperate, isolated, undemocratic, and possibly outright anti-western. Also as soon as the civil gets into the open phase, I suspect Russian support will become more and more implied rather then open. They certainly won't be bailing out the Syrians with weapon shipments, though they may continue deliveries on contracts.Ozzy Blizzard said:
The military is a seperate body, and if there is a regime change then they will be the biggest and most powerful players in the country, so an order made by the current govt, will still be viable after a regime change, because the military would want the planes.
Or Hinds. Look at the Sudanese use of Hinds against SLA and SPLA targets (as well as civilians). Much cheaper, available in used and upgraded format, and much better for that job. This Fulcrum purchase, in my opinion, represents the desire to acquire a modern multi-role fighter on par with much else in the region.