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All involvement of all military aircraft in any capacity wears them down. This is a tactic China is currently using to wear down Taiwan's aircraft[0]. Russia h

All involvement of all military aircraft in any capacity wears them down. This is a tactic China is currently using to wear down Taiwan's aircraft[0]. Russia has tactical nuclear weapons to supplement their ability to act outside their borders in high intensity warfare. Having a robust deterrent is the best way to prevent high intensity warfare in the first place. [0] https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/hongkong-taiwan-military/ https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/hongkong... >By increasing the tempo of these operations, the PLA can inflict disproportionate stress on Taiwan’s much smaller force. The Chinese military has more than 2,000 fighters, bombers and other warplanes, compared with Taiwan’s 400 fighters, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military power, published in September. Over time, fuel costs, pilot fatigue and wear and tear on Taiwanese aircraft will threaten the readiness of the island’s air force if this pressure continues, according to Taiwanese and U.S. military analysts. The constant threat is also designed to exact a psychological toll on the defenders, they say.

nabla9 6y ago
Russia is declining power unlike China. Russia struggles to maintain and repair their existing aircraft. Even increasing the rate of intercepts in the peacetime increases the attrition rate to unsustainable level.
runarberg 6y ago
> Having a robust deterrent is the best way to prevent high intensity warfare in the first place. This is wrong. The best way to prevent warfare is to disarm the nations.
- Juliate 6y ago
  This feels wrong, but disarmement works when all parties willfully participate in it. All you need is one foul player for this path to fail. Before WWII, Germany was forbidden from remaking an army. It still did. Where Europe & US could have played deterrence by forcing Germany to stop, they preferred to appease things. We all know what happened. When you're in front of a bully, you might talk first and ask them once to turn it down. If that tactic doesn't work, disarmament is obedience.
  - runarberg 6y ago
    > When you're in front of a bully... I think it is a mistake to anthropomorphize nation states this way. Explaining international relations in terms of personal relations is misleading at best. A bully does not control a nuclear arsenal, nation states do.
    - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
      Given that Russia continues to behave as a bully (Georgia and Ukraine, at a minimum), I see exactly nothing wrong with calling them a bully.
      - runarberg 6y ago
        That is fine, but problems arise when you start talking policy in an anthropomorphized context. Sure Russia is behaving like a bully, but that doesn’t mean the UK and other NATO members should call it’s parents and have Russia suspended from school.
        AnimalMuppet 6y ago
        Obviously. But when people call Russia a bully, I rather doubt that they're anthropomorphizing them to that degree. And calling them a bully gives a convenient shorthand for both describing their behavior and stating that it's problematic.

nabla9 6y ago

Russia is declining power unlike China. Russia struggles to maintain and repair their existing aircraft. Even increasing the rate of intercepts in the peacetime increases the attrition rate to unsustainable level.

runarberg 6y ago

> Having a robust deterrent is the best way to prevent high intensity warfare in the first place. This is wrong. The best way to prevent warfare is to disarm the nations.

Juliate 6y ago
This feels wrong, but disarmement works when all parties willfully participate in it. All you need is one foul player for this path to fail. Before WWII, Germany was forbidden from remaking an army. It still did. Where Europe & US could have played deterrence by forcing Germany to stop, they preferred to appease things. We all know what happened. When you're in front of a bully, you might talk first and ask them once to turn it down. If that tactic doesn't work, disarmament is obedience.
- runarberg 6y ago
  > When you're in front of a bully... I think it is a mistake to anthropomorphize nation states this way. Explaining international relations in terms of personal relations is misleading at best. A bully does not control a nuclear arsenal, nation states do.
  - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
    Given that Russia continues to behave as a bully (Georgia and Ukraine, at a minimum), I see exactly nothing wrong with calling them a bully.
    - runarberg 6y ago
      That is fine, but problems arise when you start talking policy in an anthropomorphized context. Sure Russia is behaving like a bully, but that doesn’t mean the UK and other NATO members should call it’s parents and have Russia suspended from school.
      - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
        Obviously. But when people call Russia a bully, I rather doubt that they're anthropomorphizing them to that degree. And calling them a bully gives a convenient shorthand for both describing their behavior and stating that it's problematic.