So the first thing – the size of armies. If we talk about numbers, then, of course, we must start from the population of these countries. According to official data on January 1, 2015 the number of Russian population was 146,267,288 people.
But the US population according to the United States Official Population Clock on November 1, 2015 was 321 266 000 people. This means that at present the United States are possible to attract into the ranks of the armed forces more citizens. So, here the United States clearly have an advantage.
In other words, the Russian mobilization reserve, taking into account all the men between 17 to 49 years, is about 31 million people, while the US has a reserve of 56 million people.
If we talk about the war of exhaustion, here the US is in a better situation – this country will be able to make up their own loss more efficiently and last much longer.
And all because the Americans have a fully professional army numbering more than 1.4 million soldiers, except that about 1.1 -1.3 million people, who are also professional soldiers, that stay in the mobilization reserve. By the way, all the reservists have a valid contract with the Ministry of Defence and undergo regular military training.
As for Russia, the armed forces consist of about 1 million people and about 700 thousand people are in the reserve. But! 300 thousand soldiers – are conscripts and professional provision doesn’t exist, it consists of the civilian population.
The second point – the technical equipment of the Army. Let’s start with the tanks, the foundations of the Army. In the US Army arsenal there are 8325 units of the technique, 1963 of which are tanks “Abrams” (of which 588 are upgraded), the other are (the M1A1 and M1) approximately in equal numbers.
At the same time, the number of Russian tank is superior to the American one. The Russian army is armed with about 17 thousand tanks, 500 of which are the latest version of T-90A and T-90AK. In addition, about 4,500 of T-80 are undergoing major repairs and also there are 12,500 different versions of T-72.
The Russian fleet of armored vehicles BTR-70 and BTR-82A is about 4900 units, besides 4,500 units of BMP-2, 8000 – BMP-1, 700 units – BMP-3, 1500 – BMD of various modifications and 700 – BTR-D. According to plans of the senior military leadership of the Russian Federation, by 2020 all of the BTR-80 will be upgraded in the BTR-82A (AM).
As for the US, the army of this country has 6500 BMP “Bradley” and no less than 16,000 units of various armored vehicles, which is slightly larger than Russia has.
Equally important to the success of ground operations are self-propelled guns. The Americans have only about 3,500 units against 13,500 Russian. Furthermore, Russia has 3500 MRL, and the US have only about 850 of these systems. Thus, in this part of the technical equipment the superiority is on the side of Russia.
It should also be noted that the US Army soldiers have one more, but a significant advantage – each of them is equipped with a mass of different electronic “devices”, while Russian soldiers don’t have them yet.
The third point – technical equipment of the Air Force. At the disposal of the US army there is the world’s largest number of different combat aircraft, including bombers, fighters and attack aircraft – 2937 units, while the Russians have about 1614 combat aircraft units.
But Russia has its own trump card – the guided missiles “air-to-air” have the biggest range of flight in comparison with similar types of weapons of the US Army. For example, the R-73 used by fighter-interceptor Su-35 and Su-27 can hit a target at a distance of 300 km. American analogue is able to cover the distance of 180 km.
But the main asset of the Russian Federation is the air defense system, which is able to keep the Russian sky completely closed to the potential enemy. For example, modern Russian air defense system S-400 doesn’t have analogues in the world and in many ways superior to the American Patriot.
And finally – the technical equipment of the fleet. Total warships of Americans – 473 units, the Russian’s – 352. The US Army has also 10 aircraft carriers (Russia has 1), 72 submarines against 79 Russian’s, 15 frigates and 62 destroyers against 4 and 13 of Russian respectively.
Russia is only surpassed by destroyers and patrol ships – 34 and 65 units to 13 and 13 US respectively.
Well, theoretically, the military conflict between Russia and the United States may be, but in fact it is almost impossible. After all, Americans in any case will have advantages, and even if not in the equipment, than – the US is member of NATO, which means that in the possible war will be drawn allies on the block.
