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and start fighting your way to victory right now! Here at the Infographics Show we’ve compared
the military might of Russia to the military might of the United States before.
But now that we’re on the eve of the inauguration of the 46th US president,
we thought it was a topic worth revisiting. Currently, the USA is still ranked number
#1 when it comes to military power and Russia is number #2. This year,
both countries increased the number of active personnel with the US going from approximately
1,281,900 serving in 2019 to 1,400,000 currently serving. Russia went from 771,000 serving in 2019
to 1,013,628 currently serving. The US’s number of reservists increased from 811,000
to 860,000 while Russia continued to maintain 2,000,000 reservists. Based on population,
the US continues to have a much larger pool of applicants available for military conscription.
However, due to Russia’s forces continuing to be a majority conscription service rather than
professional volunteers, Russia still holds an advantage for conscription and mobilizing its
citizens for the first year of a war before morale issues and training would impact troop numbers.
In 2019, The US spent about $731 billion in military expenditures and is projected
to spend $750 billion in 2020. Russia spent $65.1 billion in 2019 and is projected to
spend $66.3 billion in 2020. Russia still has the most combat tanks 12,950 versus the US’s
6,289 and a stronger land based artillery system than the US. Of course most of those
nearly 13,000 tanks are currently mothballed cold war models which would require weeks of
refurbishing to get operational, and would not fare well on a modern battlefield. Both countries
are currently undertaking massive, multiple year projects with the object of streamlining
and modernizing their fighting forces. In the spring of 2020, the first batch
of upgraded T-90M ‘Proryv’ battle tanks were delivered to Russian troops. The tanks have been
fitted with a new multi-channel sighting system that enables weapons to be employed at any time of
day and night and can now also exchange data with other vehicles in real time. In June, an improved
Project 955A or Borei-A strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine entered into service
with the Russian Navy. The 4th generation sub had initially been planned to be delivered at the end
of 2019. It features improved maneuvering, depth and armament control systems. All Borei-class
submarines have the capacity to carry 16 Bulava ballistic missiles and boast 533 mm torpedo tubes.
However, the US continues to dominate in naval and air power. Also in the spring this year,
the US placed an order for 78 new F-35 Fighters, at a cost of $4.7 billion. These aircraft will be
split between the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. In November the Navy modified its contracts
with Newport News Shipbuilding to speed up the build and delivery of the John F. Kennedy. This
second of the planned naval carriers is now slated for delivery on June 30, 2024
and will have the necessary equipment to operate the F-35C fighter instead of being upgraded later.
Russia continues to test the Su-57 Stealth fighter, their answer to the US’s F-35 aircraft.
However, the first “operational” Su-57 aircraft crashed during a test flight
in December of 2019. They’ve experienced several developmental problems,
especially with creating the second generation engine for the aircraft. Currently the Su-57
is delayed until the mid-2020s at the earliest. At the end of 2019, the US gained a new, separate,
military service branch when President Trump signed the Space Force into being. As of now,
the US is the only country with an independent force meant to protect its interests in space. So
America has an advantage if aggressive aliens come calling at the same time it’s fighting Russia.
Over the last year or so, the relationship between the US and Russia has continued to deteriorate.
Due to Russia's deployment of SSC-8 missiles, the US officially withdrew from the INF Treaty
on August 2, 2019. The INF Treaty had banned US and Russian land-based nuclear
ballistic and cruise missiles as well as missile launchers with short medium-ranges of 500–1,000
kilometers (310–620 mi) and intermediate-ranges 1,000–5,500 km (620–3,420 mi). Currently,
there are no plans to revive this treaty. In 2021 New START (Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty) is set to expire. The treaty limits both nations to deploying 1,550 nuclear warheads over
700 delivery systems; this includes intercontinental ballistic missiles,
submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers. It also allows for 18 on-site
inspections every year that allow each side to keep a close eye on each others' capabilities.
Currently Russia and the Trump administration have held a number of talks to extend the treaty by up
to 5 years, but haven’t yet come to an agreement. In the last year, several incidents have occurred
between troops, highlighting the tensions between the US and Russia. A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber
was harassed by Russian fighter jets while flying over the Black Sea and international waters. Six
Russian warplanes flew so close to Alaska that Air Force F-22s scrambled to intercept them. Seven
U.S. soldiers were injured when a Russian armored vehicle deliberately rammed an American patrol in
northeast Syria. A Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked
militants for killing coalition forces in Afghanistan, including targeting American
troops. When officials briefed President Trump regarding the bounties, he opted to accept Putin’s
denial of the matter and not take further action. In 2020, Russia continued its military actions in
Ukraine and its occupation of Crimea. Also Russia sent troops to prop up the Assad regime in Syria,
as well as provided aircraft and personnel to Libya. Russia is currently working on a deal
with Sudan to build a naval base in the country as part of its strategic bid to gain military
and economic influence in the Red Sea region. In return, Russia will provide free military
equipment to Sudan to establish an air defence system protecting naval facilities at Port Sudan.
Most recently Russia brokered a cease-fire treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed
separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh while NATO declared itself neutral and opted to stay out of
the fray. In November, Russia deployed some 2,000 troops to the region for peacekeeping.
If the Russian brokered treaty holds in Nagorno-Karabakh, it will be a diplomatic
coup for Russia and strengthen their influence and position in the region.
On the other hand, President Trump has continued to pursue “America First” trade policies. He
withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement as well as verbally attacked NATO and the World
Health Organization. Over the objections of NATO allies, in July, President Trump announced a plan
to remove some 12,000 troops from Germany, claiming that Germany and NATO were using
America while underfunding their obligations. The troop removal will be an expensive, multiple year
process. Also this fall after several contentious wars of words, the US withdrew thousands of troops
from Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump’s isolationist doctrine has put the US at odds with NATO and
various allies. Many leaders are hoping that with the Biden administration comes a global
minded, comprehensive foreign policy. Both countries focused on and improved
cybersecurity in 2020. President Putin continued to deny that Russia used cyber techniques
to attack elections in the United States and other countries as well as hacking into emails
from the Department of Defense and undertaking political and social disinformation campaigns.
While many officials urged action, President Trump has seemed to take Putin’s denials at face value.
In the fall, President Putin issued a written statement for a cybertruce,
even outlining a four-point plan for what he called a “reboot” in the relationship between
the United States and Russia in regards to information security. However the proposal
ignored previous incidents. Furthermore, some academic experts think that a cyber treaty isn’t
feasible. Arms treaties have worked because access to nuclear weapons is very limited. However,
cyberweapons are controlled by countries, criminal groups, activists and teenagers.
States can conduct cyber activities through black ops using proxies, including criminal groups.
It would be nearly impossible to enforce such a treaty. President-Elect Biden has signaled
that he will have a harsher stance in regards to Russian cyber operations.
Covid-19 has had an effect on both the US and Russian militaries. In the US, the
Defense Department issued an order in late March prohibiting the deployment of service members for
60 days to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Later revised guidelines were issued mandating
troop testing for COVID-19 and a 14-day quarantine prior to deployment. The Defense Department also
canceled, postponed, or significantly reduced previously planned major military exercises.
Additionally Navy ships have been kept out at sea longer and are making fewer port
calls to minimize the risk of infection. A four-tier testing program for the entire
US force was established. The program prioritizes strategic and fielded forces,
followed by forward deployed troops and then the rest of the force. A similar program will likely
be created when a vaccine becomes available. After a few new recruits tested positive,
all the military services paused basic training for new recruits to implement
new safety procedures. A 14 day quarantine period was added as well as a program where new recruits
are continuously tested for COVID-19 and monitored with daily health assessments
during basic training. Class sizes have been reduced and some training exercises limited.
These tactics and others have gone a long way to slow the spread of coronavirus in US forces.
On October 22, the US military had a rate of 2,387 cases per 100,000 personnel, a slightly lower rate
than the overall US population which at the time was 2,527 cases per 100,000 people. The military
continues to remain vigilant about limiting Covid-19 infections whenever possible, realizing
that the virus is a threat to national security. Russia also implemented plans to slow Covid
infection. On March 12th, the Kremlin created a highly centralized operational-level headquarters
headed up by the First Deputy Minister to oversee the Covid-19 response in the armed forces.
Among other duties, the headquarters manages medical equipment and supplies for the forces,
as well as monitoring rates of infection and creating health guidelines for troops.
A 3-day readiness assessment for Covid-19 was carried out across all Russian army branches in
late March.This allowed the general staff to tweak the duties and areas of responsibility of the
armed forces in terms of emergency preparedness and response, medical support and other tasks.
Also 16 prefabricated temporary medical centers were built in underserved military districts.
New safety rules and an aggressive testing regime was installed across Russian military bases and
compounds. Meanwhile, combat training continued as usual across all forces.
The draft for some 135,000 conscripts was temporarily delayed from April 1 until April
13th while a testing and 14 day quarantine process was implemented for new conscripts.
Up until early May, the Russia government claimed that Russia troops were officially
COVID-19 free. State media reported that in the thousands of tests conducted since mid-March,
no servicemen tested positive. However, when soldiers began to leak eyewitness reports,
only then did the Ministry of Defense reluctantly admit to a few cases.
Even now, information is limited as to the spread of Covid-19 in the Russian forces. From March 1
to September 15, 2020, there were 12,066 confirmed coronavirus cases in the armed forces and another
1,509 cases among civilian personnel making for an estimated 1.6% of the military and 0.2-0.25%
of civilian personnel contracting COVID-19. It will be interesting to see the long terms
effects the pandemic has on both the US and Russian militaries, the allocation of funds
for military budgets and strategic doctrine. Thanks to our sponsor Conflict of Nations! Use
the link in the description to get 13,000 gold and a month of premium subscription for free.
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