India, Pakistan, and Kashmir

#129
#129
lawgator1 said:
As long as the only reason people like Trump is that hes not someone else he will never expand his base.
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Since Bill Clinton, I cannot think of any president or political on the national stage that has expanded their base. Dubya didn't, Obama didn't, Boehner didn't, Reid didn't, Pelosi hasn't, etc. All except Boehner are still there, and Boehner left on his own terms.

So much of what the anti-Trump crowd accuses Trump of, or accuses Trump of being, is perfectly in line with other politicians. He is beyond the pale mostly in style, not substance.
 
#138
#138
VolStrom said:
This is actually funny. Anything the Russians build is generally a piece of crap. Now they are leasing a piece of crap to India for money that India doesn't have, for something they don't need.
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Russia is where the Indians got their aircraft carrier from.
 
#141
#141
VolStrom said:
This is actually funny. Anything the Russians build is generally a piece of crap. Now they are leasing a piece of crap to India for money that India doesn't have, for something they don't need.
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I'd be careful about thinking "generally" Russian equipment is a piece of crap. Those Akula class subs are pretty dang decent subs. The diesel-electric boats the Russians have are pretty dang good as well.

American exceptionalism aside, Russians can build decent weapons. Their tanks and armor generally aren't that good, but their small arms are just as good (maybe better) than what Western powers are putting out. The Su-27/30 family are dang good fighters in their own right. Their SAMs and AAA systems are first rate. Their artillery had always been good and their anti-ship missiles have been a serious threat in the past.
 
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#142
#142
VolStrom said:
This is actually funny. Anything the Russians build is generally a piece of crap. Now they are leasing a piece of crap to India for money that India doesn't have, for something they don't need.
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Edit: Grand Vol explained this in more depth.
 
#143
#143
Grand Vol said:
I'd be careful about thinking "generally" Russian equipment is a piece of crap. Those Akula class subs are pretty dang decent subs. The diesel-electric boats the Russians have are pretty dang good as well.

American exceptionalism aside, Russians can build decent weapons. Their tanks and armor generally aren't that good, but their small arms are just as good (maybe better) than what Western powers are putting out. The Su-27/30 family are dang good fighters in their own right. Their SAMs and AAA systems are first rate. Their artillery had always been good and their anti-ship missiles have been a serious threat in the past.
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From an air force perspective, the only area where Russia is lagging behind is in stealth technology. Their stealth fighter (PAK-FA) has issues with the radar cross-section of some areas, while the F22 has no such issues.

The only real competitor to the F22 right now is China's J20 stealth fighter (Hmmm, I wonder why).
 
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#144
#144
marcusluvsvols said:
Yes...and they land MiG29s on it...scary. it looks weird, too...has a half pipe on the front to help takeoff...much smaller than our carriers, too.
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Conventionally powered and no cats, thus IMO limiting effective fuel and weapon loads those Chinese sukhois and Indian migs can carry

The British QEII uses a ski ramp for the STOVL F-35B
 
#145
#145
Matt2496 said:
From an air force perspective, the only area where Russia is lagging behind is in stealth technology.
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I would add AESA radar and a biggie.....motors. Russian motors cannot touch P&W or GE service life but you get what you pay for. Historically Russian Equipment was designed for shorter service life and considered more battlefield expendable although that doctrine seems to be changing as Equipment is so expensive these days.
Chinese lag the Russians on motors although they are closing fast with the WS-10 and WS-15.
 
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#146
#146
Orangeburst65 said:
I would add AESA radar and a biggie.....motors. Russian motors cannot touch P&W or GE service life but you get what you pay for. Historically Russian Equipment was designed for shorter service life and considered more battlefield expendable although that doctrine seems to be changing as Equipment is so expensive these days.
Chinese lag the Russians on motors although they are closing fast with the WS-10 and WS-15.
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Everything I think i ever knew about Soviet/Russian warfare doctrine for a conventional European war I read in
“Red Storm Rising”. It couldn’t have changed that much could it? With the exception of not being able to take Berlin in a matter of hours.
 
#147
#147
RDU VOL#14 said:
Everything I think i ever knew about Soviet/Russian warfare doctrine for a conventional European war I read in
“Red Storm Rising”. It couldn’t have changed that much could it? With the exception of not being able to take Berlin in a matter of hours.
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Sure can. Remember, we live in a digital age. You don't have to be the super spy breaking into an industrial building to steal secrets these days. All it takes is a computer and a dedicated hacker for the Russians, Chinese and others to make huge leaps in their technology. Especially in the electronic warfare arena.

American weapons, namely aircraft and ships, are still some of the best based on the electronic spectrum of warfare. And our training sets us apart as well. The Russians and Chinese are still a bit behind on that, but the idea that Russian = Piss Poor is a huge fallacy. Sometimes they get it right and produce a metric butt-ton of whatever works great. The MiG-21 is a good example of that. It really had no direct dogfighting peer in the 60s and early 70s even though it was a 1950s design. So, the Russians (Soviets) just kept upgrading them and mass producing them well into the 1980s. Shoot, there's even modern upgrades that have kept it viable into the 21st century.

All in all, it takes a fool to say "bwahahahaha! You bought Russian!" (no offense Marcus)
 
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#148
#148
Grand Vol said:
Sure can. Remember, we live in a digital age. You don't have to be the super spy breaking into an industrial building to steal secrets these days. All it takes is a computer and a dedicated hacker for the Russians, Chinese and others to make huge leaps in their technology. Especially in the electronic warfare arena.

American weapons, namely aircraft and ships, are still some of the best based on the electronic spectrum of warfare. And our training sets us apart as well. The Russians and Chinese are still a bit behind on that, but the idea that Russian = Piss Poor is a huge fallacy. Sometimes they get it right and produce a metric butt-ton of whatever works great. The MiG-21 is a good example of that. It really had no direct dogfighting peer in the 60s and early 70s even though it was a 1950s design. So, the Russians (Soviets) just kept upgrading them and mass producing them well into the 1980s. Shoot, there's even modern upgrades that have kept it viable into the 21st century.

All in all, it takes a fool to say "bwahahahaha! You bought Russian!" (no offense Marcus)
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Want to cripple our military, take out the GPS satellites. Per a couple buddies of mine most officers O-4 and below along with the Jr NCOs couldn't find their azz without it anymore.
 
#149
#149
Grand Vol said:
Sure can. Remember, we live in a digital age. You don't have to be the super spy breaking into an industrial building to steal secrets these days. All it takes is a computer and a dedicated hacker for the Russians, Chinese and others to make huge leaps in their technology. Especially in the electronic warfare arena.

American weapons, namely aircraft and ships, are still some of the best based on the electronic spectrum of warfare. And our training sets us apart as well. The Russians and Chinese are still a bit behind on that, but the idea that Russian = Piss Poor is a huge fallacy. Sometimes they get it right and produce a metric butt-ton of whatever works great. The MiG-21 is a good example of that. It really had no direct dogfighting peer in the 60s and early 70s even though it was a 1950s design. So, the Russians (Soviets) just kept upgrading them and mass producing them well into the 1980s. Shoot, there's even modern upgrades that have kept it viable into the 21st century.

All in all, it takes a fool to say "bwahahahaha! You bought Russian!" (no offense Marcus)
Click to expand...

The Indian's MiG-21 Bison upgrade is expected to remain in operational service until 2025, it was the same aircraft that shot down the Pakistani F-16 (which I know isn't the newest) but still is impressive). Like you said the Russian military isn't the same rusting out junk heap that it was in the 1990s. Putin has invested billions into it. It definitely has the power to go toe to toe with NATO (especially in an armor engagement) in a conventional fight but I'm not sure how long the Russians could sustain it though because I'm not sure how good there logistics are.
 
#150
#150
Burhead said:
The Indian's MiG-21 Bison upgrade is expected to remain in operational service until 2025, it was the same aircraft that shot down the Pakistani F-16 (which I know isn't the newest) but still is impressive). Like you said the Russian military isn't the same rusting out junk heap that it was in the 1990s. Putin has invested billions into it. It definitely has the power to go toe to toe with NATO (especially in an armor engagement) in a conventional fight but I'm not sure how long the Russians could sustain it though because I'm not sure how good there logistics are.
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Russia would have no chance in a conventional war against NATO. That isn't to say they couldn't/wouldn't inflict big losses (they would), but they'd have zero chance of winning a conflict.
 
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