Originally posted by MrSpad
reply to post by Alternative4u
The US spends more on defense then the next 14 nations combined. That includes Russia and China. 50% of the worlds defence spending is just the US
alone. When you ad in NATO its 70% and that does not inlude all the other US allies. The Russian military has been gutted. It lacks skilled worker
to build advance weapons systems because when its defence industry collapsed they all went elsewear for better money, desertion and buying ones way
out of the military is common, and a large portion of Russian defense spending ends up lining pockets of corrupt officers and government workers. The
Russian military is in such bad shape they have tried but failed tp reform a couple of times in the last decade. All Russia has is its nukes. That
is why they get so upset when the US talks about missle defense. I also do not see how the US as sleeping and I certainly do not see Russia awake.
One of the most ignorant comments I've read on ATS in a while.
Update your knowledge mate, it will do you wonders.
Btw, you think corruption exists only in Russia?
The Germans bribed the Greeks to buy their subs.
Do you know by how much defence contracts are inflated to fill peoples pockets? A lot.
Do you really think all that western military hardware costs as much as they say it does?
Do you think American corporations win so many contracts around the world, because put up a better tender and presentation? It's called corporate
espionage and it involves intelligence agencies.
There you go, some very clear cases of corruption and shady dealings in the Western world.
The Russian defence industry is what? LOL.
So explain to us why they were only the second country to start building a 5th generation stealth fighter? It's called the PAK-FA..look it up,
because several prototypes are already flying and it will be in service in the not too distant future. They also have plans for a stealth bomber. They
also have plans for new aircraft carriers.
They are building new submarines.
New ICBM/SLBM's.
They are building new frigates and corvettes.
New infantry weaponry and hardware too.
Not only are they building new weapons for them selves, but they are exporting quite a bit.
With NASA's shuttles out of service, guess whose been keeping trips between the International Space Station and Earth going? The Russians.
When the US pushed Georgia to provoke Russia, guess what the US did? Nothing. They sat back and watched because short of starting WW3, there was
nothing they could do about Russia rolling into Georgia.
The Russian military might be a shadow of what it's Soviet predecessor was, but they are spending more and more, modernizing and bringing out new
gear.
I've said it before and I'll say it again..people on the internet might underestimate Russia, but the Wests leaders do not.