U.S. Military Specialists Are Impressed By The New Gear That Russia's Special Forces Are Now Carrying

Photo from Vice

Tactical Advantage: Russian Military Shows Off Impressive New Gear -- Washington Times

Tanks-to-troops modernization.

Elite Russian troops are displaying a new arsenal of body armor, individual weapons, armor-piercing ammunition and collar radios — a menu of essential gear that gives them a big tactical advantage against a lesser-equipped Ukrainian army.

If President Vladimir Putin orders an invasion, the new-generation body armor, in particular, would provide exceptional protection against small arms if Russian troops go street by street to capture Kiev and other cities.

“What we saw and what was dangled in front of the West was a clear indication that Putin is on a roll,” retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales said. “It just seems to me from watching the films that their arrows are pointing up and ours are sadly pointing down.”

Weapons specialists such as Gen. Scales have been studying images of Spetsnaz, Russia’s ubiquitous special forces, and airborne troops since they conquered the Crimea region and mobilized to strike eastern Ukraine.

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My Comment: I concur with this analysis. I have been studying the videos of Russian special forces in operation in Crimea .... the professionalism and the new equipment that they have is impressive. It is almost as if they took the best of what they saw in what U.S. and British special forces were (and are) doing, and improved on it.