I'm not out to question your, presumingly extensive knowledge on the subject. However, being a grandson of highly ranked pilot of the Soviet Air Force my grand

I'm not out to question your, presumingly extensive knowledge on the subject. However, being a grandson of highly ranked pilot of the Soviet Air Force my grandfather told me a thing or two about this subject. It is common knowledge that most of the Soviet military (and non-military for that matter) advancements came from a well-organized campaign that was set out to legally and illegally acquire Western technology. The only part of the cold war where the Soviets were ahead is possibly scale, achieved mostly by enslavement of it's own population, not so much advancements in technology and science.