"Clearly, morale reveals itself on the battlefield. If we take the Syrian conflict, it is evident whose army is more powerful. This is why such ratings do not always reflect the real state of affairs. We should focus on quality rather than quantity. If we compare the armed forces of Russia and the United States based on quality, then I think that the Russian military is on par with the US military," defense analyst Vladimir Evseev said.
Evseev, Deputy Director of the Moscow-based Institute of CIS Countries, also warned against considering the most expensive weapons to be the best, citing the ill-fated Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II as a case in point.
"It is much more efficient to produce less expensive but tested weapons. The most advanced armaments are not necessarily the best. Take the F-35 or the F-22 Raptor for instance. These are extremely expensive aircraft, but their price tag does not correspond with their combat capabilities," he said.
Evseev further said that the Pentagon has more warships in its arsenal, but some Russian military vessels are of higher quality.
In conclusion, Evseev mentioned that unlike the United States, Russia does not abandon its allies, which is also "of no small importance."
Defense analyst Viktor Baranets told Radio Sputnik that no one has come up with a set of criteria which could be used to clearly determine what country has the most powerful military.
"War is the only criteria [that works]," he said. "All the rest is philosophy. One could compare countries based on different types of weapons systems. Take military budgets, for instance. The United States' defense spending is ten times higher than Russia's. But is it right to assert that the US Armed Forces are ten times more powerful than the Russian military?"
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