Russian artillery is superior in its capabilities to the field guns of the US Army. This was stated by the experts of the RAND Corporation center, the American magazine The National Interest reports on June 12.
For two decades, the Pentagon is said to have neglected US Army artillery because, since the early 2000s, it began to focus primarily on counterinsurgency operations. As a result, air defense and field artillery have faced particularly severe cuts, said RAND analyst John Gordon.
“Given the nature of the threats in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is understandable. However, today these two types of troops are of great importance, given who are now our main opponents, ”he said.
If we are talking about conventional shells, the firing range of the American 155-mm howitzer M109A7 “Paladin” is 24 kilometers, and if we are talking about active-reactive – 32 kilometers, the material says. At the same time, the firing range of the Russian BM-30 Smerch is about one hundred kilometers, and the SS-26 Iskander missile system is about four hundred.
According to analysts, in addition to Russia, North Korea also poses a threat. In the event of a new conflict on the Korean Peninsula, US artillery may not be prepared for the level of ammunition consumption that may be required when fighting a practically equal opponent.
Earlier, on June 1, American General, Commander of the Northern Command of the Pentagon Glen David VanHerke said that the new types of weapons that Russia has developed pose a direct threat to US security. He explained that Russia and China are deploying new space and cyber countermeasures, cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons and strike weapons that can “strike US targets from multiple attack vectors and in all areas.”
Prior to this, on May 30, Professor Andrew Futter, in an interview with the Daily Express newspaper, admitted the inability of the British army to intercept Russian Kinzhal missiles. According to him, the UK’s lack of defensive weapons makes the country “extremely vulnerable and defenseless in the event of a strike.”
On March 22, US President Joe Biden recognized the invulnerability of these Russian weapons. He noted that the “Dagger” is almost unstoppable.
