Originally Posted by
NutLoose
The other problem he faces is he needs Western technology to build his army, and that they have come dependent on requires maintenance and parts, remember how far they were behind when the Cold War ended, the question is who will provide it? China?, I wonder if they will risk all of its western trade to support Russia?
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Sure the USSR was behind in many technical areas but they were very, very good at producing simple, reliable and long-lasting kit. I was a small part of a team that took apart some captured Soviet comms kit in the late 1970's. Crude but tough and reliable. The thing that stood out to me, as a maintainer and repairer of our kit, was that their kit was designed to be repaired quickly with a minimum of tools and test gear.
Sure things have fallen off a cliff over the past 30 years because of theft and corruption mostly. I'd not write off Russia's technical competence though. Some of the most reliable and effective weapons are Russian/Soviet. It's not an accident that the AK-47 is the most popular assault rifle in the world. The bloody thing is now over 70 years old yet there are millions of them still in service. Give me a choice between an AK-47 and our own bit of complete and total ****, the SA80 and I'd put up with the extra weight of the AK and it's ammo. If only because it works and doesn't jam.