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Originally Posted by Targan
I am impressed with your reasoning Raellus. I hope the DC Working Group read this thread.
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Thanks, Targan. I hope I've given them something to think about.
One last thing before I give someone else a turn.
Although it is true that most NATO weapons systems/platforms were (and continue to be) superior in most respects to Soviet gear throughout the Cold War, it bears keeping in mind that shortly before the collapse of the USSR, the Soviets were starting to roll out some pretty capable systems. Due to the massive military funding cuts that started around '91, most of those systems either withered on the vine or were ordered/employed in only very limited numbers. I think many of us tend to imagine the late '80s matchups of Challengers vs. T-72s, or F-15s vs. MiG-23s when we try to envision the Twilight War. Soviet reserve units are often tooling around in T-55s and BMP-1s. By the Twilight War, the Soviets would be fielding considerably better front line gear and better gear would have trickled down to many second and third line units. Here's a brief list of stuff well down the pipeline by 1991, IRL:
The T-90 tank, combining and upgrading the best features/components of the T-72 and T-80.
The BMP-3: probably the most heavily armed IFV in the world.
The BMD-3: ditto for airborne troops.
The BTR-90: a marked improvement in the series, with a heavy armament in its own right.
The 2S19 152mm SP gun.
The SU-30/32/33/34/35: Several very capable air superiority, multirole, and strike members of the excellent SU-27 family.
The Kamov KA-50 Hokum attack heli (and probably a couple hundred Mi-28 Havocs).
The An-94 assault rifle: This is a bit of a late addition, but it combines a fairly revolutionary firing mechanism with tried and true Kalashnikov features.
And perhaps even a regiment or two of T-95 tanks...
In the Twilight timeline, by 1996, these systems would have been in fairly widespread service with Guards and Category I divisions, freeing up the next lower level of gear (T-72s, BMP-2s, MiG-29 etc.) for Category II divisions and so forth, in a sort of trickle-down effect of major weapons systems. In 2000, you might still see a few T-62s and MiG-21s, but, by '97 those would be used in
deep reserve units only.
After the nukes, though, a lot of old T-62s and T-55 and such would likely still be in reserve storage, ready to head for the front. NATO likely couldn't match that.