Five NATO Weapons of War Russia Should Fear

Five NATO Weapons of War Russia Should Fear

07/01/14

Michael Peck

State of the Military, Defense, NATO, United States, Russia

If tensions should spiral out of control, here's what Moscow should be concerned about.

Editor's Note: Please also see our other “weapons of war” articles such as: Five Chinese Weapons of War America Should Fear, Five American Weapons of War China Should Fear,

Five Japanese Weapons of War China Should Fear and the Five Best Weapons of War from the Soviet Union.

When it comes to a potential war between NATO and Russia over the Ukraine or some other hotspot, everyone's attention is focused on the capabilities of U.S. versus Russian weapons.

But wait a minute. The U.S. is only one member of NATO, and it happens to be one of the members that isn't even on the European continent. Should NATO and Russia come to blows, it is certain that European forces will go into battle alongside--perhaps--American troops.

If this scenario happens, here are five NATO weapons Russia should fear:

Britain's Challenger 2 tank:

Backbone of the UK's tank force, the Challenger 2 would be in the forefront should Britain commit heavy armor to a European conflict against Russia.

The Challenger 2 is heavily protected with Dorchester (another name for Chobham armor) and armed with a 120-millimeter cannon. It has an off-road speed of about 25 miles per hour.

Given that the most advanced tanks in the world haven't really faced each other (the First Gulf War was 25 years ago, and even Israel hasn't fought a tank battle against Russian-made armor in more than 30 years), predicting how a Challenger 2 would fare against Russian tanks would be conjecture. Weighing in at 63 tons, the Challenger 2 is certainly heavier than the various models of the 40- to 50-ton T-72s that Russia fields, including the T-72B3 and the T-90.

Read full articlehttp://nationalinterest.org/feature/five-nato-weapons-war-russia-should-fear-10769