Russia has an advantage over the U.S. in tank numbers, but that does not guarantee it will win the land war. The military journalist Chris Osborne, in The National Interest magazine, evaluated the powers' chances of a potential conflict.
It is noted that Russia has only 27,000 armored vehicles, 12,000 of which are tanks. The author writes that it is impressive, but quite reasonable, as Russia is primarily a land power. At the same time, the country's leadership plans to add another 1,200 vehicles.
It is noted that in the first half of 2020 Russia received 160 tanks, among which many repaired and restored T-72B and T-80. However, the author doubts that all of them can compete with the American M1 Abrams.
The U.S., in turn, has a smaller number of tanks — only 6 thousand cars. At the same time, the total number of armored vehicles in Washington is 39 thousand. The country also has naval and air power. In this regard, Osborne wonders how important it is to have more tanks for a long land war.
The author believes that military aviation will play an important role in any modern armed conflict, where the United States has more than twice the advantage in combat aircraft and five times the advantage in helicopters. It is the air force that will give the answer to who wins on the ground.
At the same time, Osborne recalls the experts' fears that Russia might quickly seize the Baltics if the U.S. does not send serious reinforcements.
The expert concludes that naked numbers mean little in modern warfare, as the range, accuracy, invulnerability, and combat characteristics of tanks and aircraft will play a role, where American technology is more likely to have advantages.
Earlier in 2019, the U.S. Navy specialist Lyle Goldstein told about who will win the war between the United States and Russia at sea. The specialist predicted that almost the entire NATO fleet in the Black Sea would be destroyed in the first hours of the war by Russian submarines, land-based missile systems, missile boats, and aircraft equipped with hypersonic anti-ship missiles such as the Dagger.
Goldstein believes that the ban (according to Montreux Convention) on the passage of aircraft carriers through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits is good luck for the United States because otherwise the American ships would have been sunk as well.
Add a comment!