SavannahMann
Platinum Member
- Nov 16, 2016
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When I was just joining the Military, we focused on training to fight the stomping red menace. We focused our training on defeating the Soviet Union in case of a conventional war. As a Combat Engineer, I spent time learning about the Russian technology that I would likely face on the Battlefield. I quickly became aware of the awesome quality of Russian tech.
The AK-47 was infinitely more reliable than my own issue M-16A2. It did not have the range, nor the accuracy, but did have many other attributes that were desirable. You could for example, build an AK out of the parts from ten different rifles, and it would function flawlessly. The bolts on the AR Platform had to be customized to each chamber.
That was not all, we were all aware of the simplicity and reliability of all the Russian hardware. They build them solidly, and they build them simply. Why have ten parts, when two will do? It may not be refined, but it works, and having something that works reliabibly is very useful to a Soldier.
When I left the Army, I continued to enjoy reading tech articles on Russian hardware. It was no surprise to me that the Russians had developed amazing Rocket Engines. It was equally no surprise that these engines worked well, and were simple. That was always a Russian trait. Today I own a set of NVG’s from the factory that made them for the military in Ukraine. They are bulky, heavy by comparison, and about the equivalent of our own PVS-5 system that was nearly obsolete when I was in the Army. But again, they work. They were cheap, barely two hundred dollars while American made ones were more than a thousand when I bought them.
But we are always told how technologically advanced our nation is, and I wanted to tell you all about the Russian Rocket Motors. The way a rocket motor works is to spin a turbine with a small amount of fuel, this turbine spins and drives the fuel pumps to power the main rocket. So far, so good. We Americans looked at it, and decided that it was too dangerous to even consider having the exhaust of this turbine go into the main combustion chamber, and we instead vented it over the side, wasting all that hot gas. The Russians felt that this was too valuable to lose, and devised a way to do what we were unable to do despite billions of dollars of development.
Yes, Russian Rocket Motors are better than our own. RD-180 - Wikipedia
What does this tell you? The tech may be clunky, and have a lack of an elegant nature. But results are what matters. As we said in the Army. If it is stupid, but it works, it isn’t stupid. And the Russian system works. In fact, while we are beating our chests on our awesome tech, we have to use the Russian motors to launch our own rockets into orbit. Yes, that means what it says. Without Russia we wouldn’t have any space program.
Now, I love NASA. I always have. I love the exploration of our solar system, learning about our Galaxy, and the Universe. I had all the models as a kid. I had the Apollo Craft, the Shuttle, all of that. So my surprise learning that the Russians were actually better at making Rocket Engines than we were was nothing compared to the Rocket Scientists we have in the US who were convinced that the Russian systems were just Kludge. You know, old and obsolete by modern standards.
The Russians are not idiots friends. Think about that while beating your breast and saying that our Stealth Tech is going to mop the floor with them if we go to war.
The Tanks the Russians make are superior to the American Abrams in many ways. It would be a close fight one on one as to who won. The Russian Tanks have wider treads and lighter weight, giving them better performance in harsh terrain. The Abrams is heavy and anyone who has any Military experience knows what a pain it is to recover one of those beasts that gets bogged down.
The AK-47 was infinitely more reliable than my own issue M-16A2. It did not have the range, nor the accuracy, but did have many other attributes that were desirable. You could for example, build an AK out of the parts from ten different rifles, and it would function flawlessly. The bolts on the AR Platform had to be customized to each chamber.
That was not all, we were all aware of the simplicity and reliability of all the Russian hardware. They build them solidly, and they build them simply. Why have ten parts, when two will do? It may not be refined, but it works, and having something that works reliabibly is very useful to a Soldier.
When I left the Army, I continued to enjoy reading tech articles on Russian hardware. It was no surprise to me that the Russians had developed amazing Rocket Engines. It was equally no surprise that these engines worked well, and were simple. That was always a Russian trait. Today I own a set of NVG’s from the factory that made them for the military in Ukraine. They are bulky, heavy by comparison, and about the equivalent of our own PVS-5 system that was nearly obsolete when I was in the Army. But again, they work. They were cheap, barely two hundred dollars while American made ones were more than a thousand when I bought them.
But we are always told how technologically advanced our nation is, and I wanted to tell you all about the Russian Rocket Motors. The way a rocket motor works is to spin a turbine with a small amount of fuel, this turbine spins and drives the fuel pumps to power the main rocket. So far, so good. We Americans looked at it, and decided that it was too dangerous to even consider having the exhaust of this turbine go into the main combustion chamber, and we instead vented it over the side, wasting all that hot gas. The Russians felt that this was too valuable to lose, and devised a way to do what we were unable to do despite billions of dollars of development.
Yes, Russian Rocket Motors are better than our own. RD-180 - Wikipedia
What does this tell you? The tech may be clunky, and have a lack of an elegant nature. But results are what matters. As we said in the Army. If it is stupid, but it works, it isn’t stupid. And the Russian system works. In fact, while we are beating our chests on our awesome tech, we have to use the Russian motors to launch our own rockets into orbit. Yes, that means what it says. Without Russia we wouldn’t have any space program.
Now, I love NASA. I always have. I love the exploration of our solar system, learning about our Galaxy, and the Universe. I had all the models as a kid. I had the Apollo Craft, the Shuttle, all of that. So my surprise learning that the Russians were actually better at making Rocket Engines than we were was nothing compared to the Rocket Scientists we have in the US who were convinced that the Russian systems were just Kludge. You know, old and obsolete by modern standards.
The Russians are not idiots friends. Think about that while beating your breast and saying that our Stealth Tech is going to mop the floor with them if we go to war.
The Tanks the Russians make are superior to the American Abrams in many ways. It would be a close fight one on one as to who won. The Russian Tanks have wider treads and lighter weight, giving them better performance in harsh terrain. The Abrams is heavy and anyone who has any Military experience knows what a pain it is to recover one of those beasts that gets bogged down.
