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The UK also has a battalion in Estonia - but the Russians can field as many tanks as the UK has individual soldiers there. They will be a "speed bump", nothing

by gaius 9y ago

The UK also has a battalion in Estonia - but the Russians can field as many tanks as the UK has individual soldiers there. They will be a "speed bump", nothing more.

arethuza 9y ago
There is a novel by a former senior UK general and deputy NATO leader that covers this scenario: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/former-nato-commander-s-new-book-predicts-invasion-of-baltic-as-putin-bids-to-make-russia-a-great-a7036911.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/former-nato-c... Not a great novel but mildly interesting.
_Codemonkeyism 9y ago
Not a speed bump, a trip wire.
- gaius 9y ago
  Triggering what? It's not like the UK has the capability - every "strategic defence review" is just cut, cut, cut. Challenger2, AS90, cut to the bone. Typhoon is barely capable of air-to-ground and the Tornado fleet is rapidly approaching end of life. The Type 45s fitted "for but not with" their major weapons. Carriers without anything to carry. NATO cannot defend the Baltic States, and if push comes to shove, it won't even try.
  - nl 9y ago
    As far as I know the plan against a Russian tank rush now is the same as it was when it was the Fulda Gap[1] they were protecting: tactical nukes. And I think you underestimate NATO power and overestimate Russian. Russia does have a lot of tanks, but the vast majority of them are T-72s and older[2], which are sitting ducks for modern shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles. Despite that, they do have a lot of T-90s, which are a good tank. But the disparity isn't as high as a first glance makes it appear, and NATO does have better air forces (the F-16 isn't as obsolete as you seem to think). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulda_Gap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulda_Gap [2] https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Russia-have-so-many-tanks-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-world-including-the-United-States https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Russia-have-so-many-tanks-com...
    - gaius 9y ago
      the plan against a Russian tank rush now is the same as it was when it was the Fulda Gap[1] they were protecting: tactical nukes But the WE.177 was also cut... we have no tactical nukes anymore. And it's not clear that the Baltics would rather be nuked than occupied either!

by gaius 9y ago

The UK also has a battalion in Estonia - but the Russians can field as many tanks as the UK has individual soldiers there. They will be a "speed bump", nothing more.

arethuza 9y ago

There is a novel by a former senior UK general and deputy NATO leader that covers this scenario: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/former-nato-commander-s-new-book-predicts-invasion-of-baltic-as-putin-bids-to-make-russia-a-great-a7036911.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/former-nato-c... Not a great novel but mildly interesting.

_Codemonkeyism 9y ago

Not a speed bump, a trip wire.

gaius 9y ago
Triggering what? It's not like the UK has the capability - every "strategic defence review" is just cut, cut, cut. Challenger2, AS90, cut to the bone. Typhoon is barely capable of air-to-ground and the Tornado fleet is rapidly approaching end of life. The Type 45s fitted "for but not with" their major weapons. Carriers without anything to carry. NATO cannot defend the Baltic States, and if push comes to shove, it won't even try.
- nl 9y ago
  As far as I know the plan against a Russian tank rush now is the same as it was when it was the Fulda Gap[1] they were protecting: tactical nukes. And I think you underestimate NATO power and overestimate Russian. Russia does have a lot of tanks, but the vast majority of them are T-72s and older[2], which are sitting ducks for modern shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles. Despite that, they do have a lot of T-90s, which are a good tank. But the disparity isn't as high as a first glance makes it appear, and NATO does have better air forces (the F-16 isn't as obsolete as you seem to think). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulda_Gap https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulda_Gap [2] https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Russia-have-so-many-tanks-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-world-including-the-United-States https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Russia-have-so-many-tanks-com...
  - gaius 9y ago
    the plan against a Russian tank rush now is the same as it was when it was the Fulda Gap[1] they were protecting: tactical nukes But the WE.177 was also cut... we have no tactical nukes anymore. And it's not clear that the Baltics would rather be nuked than occupied either!