EagleHammer said:
I read alot about the Russians bad economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union, So i wonder do the Russians Planes have enough teknology in them to take on the F/A 18 Super Hornet, and the rest of the American fighter's.?
And the Same things with the Russian T-90 And maybe the future T-95, Against M1A2.?
I would recommend this site to compare the planes:
http://www.airwar.ru/aircraftnowe.html
I am not an expert, so don't take my word too seriously
I believe, there are different approaches to your question:
1. A plane, a tank, a gun as just A machine
2. The same thing, but as a part of the weapon system
I believe that the Soviet/Russian Military -Industrial Complex was(is) able to produce very good and sometimes, the best weapons.
Fortunately, they never have come into test on a big scale with the American ones.
There are couple of examples - the German air wing with Mig-29s that serves as a sparring partner for the NATO pilots and the Americano-Indian trial combats.
In both cases, if I am not mistaken, the Russian planes are comparable with the American ones.
I have been told that the Russian anti-ships missiles are very good.
The Attack helicopters, too.
However, as a weapon system, the same planes, tanks, ships made by the Russians could be a much weaker force than one might expect - precisely, due to their shortcomings in computers, gadgetry, communications, etc.
This is their endemic problem and can't be improved soon.
The personnel training is an important thing, too.
If the personnel is neglected and untrained, the best technology will not help.
My own personal story - I used to hold a rank of the 1st Lt. of the Soviet AAA artillery(R).
So, my experience(4 years of ROTC an multiple calls for re-training) have been limited to:
1. 5 shots from AKM
2. 3 shots from PM(automatic pistol)
3. A lot of classes(oh, so boring!!)
4. I have never been inside of the working radar station I was supposed to be in charge of.
5. I have never made a shot from my 57-mm gun and never watched her firing
6. After graduation, I have never put my hands on a gun or the radar manuals(there were too secret!)
Could you imagine how good officer I would be when called on active duty?
There is one more point that my Russian friends are making. They say that the weapons have become so complex and so expensive, that the US are going toward the Dead End.
Nobody is going to fight them tank against tank or plane against plane.
More sophistication - less stability, price higher - less quantity.
So, the enemies of the US Forces will be trying unconventional methods, very cheap and effective...