It seems as though the Russians are making the same mistake that Nazi Germany did in World War 2 in that they are buying a small number of highly advanced tanks, like the Tiger I and II, instead of investing in a larger number of less advanced ones. The compounding irony of the situation, of course, being that in WW2 the USSR instead chose to produce large numbers of T-34’s, a tank that while advanced had no frills and only possessed the technology necessary to make it fully functional. This is part of a much broader strategic issue for Russia.
If it were to come to a war with NATO some Russian troops would put up a fearsome fight, some. Articles I have read on WarIsBoring and other sites suggest that Russia has fewer than 300,000 fully armed and equipped soldiers who could be deployed in combat. As Russia already possesses fewer troops than NATO I think the best strategy for NATO would be to open up a war on multiple fronts and just outflank the Russians.
Historically Russia’s massive territory has been a major strength, in that enemies overextend themselves when invading, but presently it appears to be a major weakness as the Russians possess too few troops to defend it. If Russia and NATO fought a war in the Ukraine it would require the bulk of Russia’s 300,000 combat capable troops. NATO could fight a defensive war in the Ukraine, seeking to limit engagements, while simultaneously invading through the South.
Russia would then be left with three options to halt the NATO advance; 1, Split its functional forces and likely be overwhelmed due to lack of numbers, 2, maintain its defensive line in one location or the other and be outflanked, or 3, use a tactical nuclear exchange to cripple one or both offenses. NATO would likely respond in kind and this would lead to a rapidly escalating nuclear conflict. Based on Russia’s statements we can infer that the third option is the choice they would like us to believe they would use, because they are well aware of their shortcomings.
On a side note if the Afghanit system is indeed functional this is all the more reason to keep the A-10 Warthog functional. No matter how advanced the system is I would like to see it try and stop 3,900 hundred rounds a minute of 30mm depleted uranium “brrt brrt.”
