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Old 07-12-2009, 12:37 PM
Benjamin Benjamin is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: The Burgh, PA
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@Raellus: That is all well and good, but remember this will not happen in a vacuum. If the Soviets begin a comprehensive effort to upgrade their weapon systems in the late 80s/early 90s, than surely NATO will respond likewise. The V.1 timeline could up seeing far earlier deployments of a number of weapon systems...F-22, A-12, RAH-66, Crusader artillery and an improved Abrams Block III.

I'm not saying that the Soviet Union is doomed, but the West had major advantages that could not be made up within the command economy of the Soviet Union. Computer technology, driven more so by market demands than the military, made advancements in electronics systems continue at a break-neck pace in the West. Many of these systems, GPS, Cell-phones, internet, encryption and others, are fully dual use. The technology is applicable to both civilian and military needs. And while it is possible for the Soviets to gain access to these technologies through the gray market, creating an integrated system for military use would be extremely difficult and even harder to maintain once the ball dropped.

The Soviet Union needs full fledged market reforms along the lines of China, but I don't see that happening. I see the Soviet invasion of China as the last gasp of a failed system. West Germany realized this and gambled. Unfortunately, the fears of a united and militaristic Germany held the Warsaw Pact together while simultaneously destroying NATO. The US and its allies did not win handily because of two factors...Italy and Greece's betrayals and nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union was long past its prime but refused to go quietly into this dark night.

Benjamin
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