"These comments indicate that Western combat aircraft are the key capability that is missing" - CAS and artillery work best together. Substitute one for the other and combined arms warfare is much, much harder. See "Fire for Effect: Field Artillery and Close Air Support in the US Army" by John J. McGrath, USAR, ret'd, from Combat Studies Institute Press, 2010. You should be able to find it free online.
"These comments indicate that Western combat aircraft are the key capability that is missing" - CAS and artillery work best together. Substitute one for the other and combined arms warfare is much, much harder. See "Fire for Effect: Field Artillery and Close Air Support in the US Army" by John J. McGrath, USAR, ret'd, from Combat Studies Institute Press, 2010. You should be able to find it free online.