Originally Posted by
dead_pan
"Make western defences obsolete"? Hmm, didn't they claim that about the S-300, S-400, PAK-50, that madcap supersonic torpedo etc etc. Sounds like yet more Russian wishful thinking.
To be fair, some of Russia's efforts have been highly credible. Going into an S-400 MEZ is still a specialised task and some of their lower airspace weapons are plain nasty. Their big push in AAMs was fruitful, as was their big push in large stand-off weapons. They also have a brace of unique capabilities that don't have a suitable western comparator.
It is true that some of their systems are seriously pants and that some of their tactical strike capability is woeful, but the same could be said of the capabilities in my first paragraph - before they addressed them.
For all their bluster, rhetoric and noise the Russians seem quite adept at judging where their capabilities are poor and addressing them. Money and time appear to be the only obstacles to progress.
