some EU countries have proposed sending troops to Ukraine but then say they can send few if any.
Grok says the EU has GDP of 19T USD and RU fed has 2T USD.
Grok says EU spend total of 343 B USD on  military or 457 B USD PPP.
Grok says RU fed spend total of 145 B USD on  military or 462 B USD PPP.
So why can't EU field an army?

The U.S. spends more on defense than the next 10 countries combined, with 2024 spending at $997 billion
Nominal vs. PPP: In nominal terms, the U.S. ($849.8-$895 billion) far outspends the EU ($343 billion) and Russia ($145 billion). In PPP, Russia's spending is closer to the EU's but still below the U.S.

IMO the US has good navy subs, and air force and can project power all over the globe. It seems the F35 is good, I hope. 800 bases around the world for some reason. A newer ballistic sub to be delivered soon maybe.

The Russians spend little. They have one carrier that does not work. The USSR fell part in recent  history. RU focuses mostly on defensive weapons.Here are some newer weapons systems.

-Some doomsday sub that can generate a tsunami off the coast of a country.
-Some mostly prototype newer fighters in small numbers. SU-57?
-A new ballistic ICBM that can carry huge loads and can attack the US by flying over the south pole.
-A nuclear powered cruise missile that can kinda fly forever. It does not spew radiation BTW.
-New ballistic missile subs with new missiles.
-Hyper-sonic missiles.
-The 'Oreshnik' hypersonic missile..
-The massive EW systems.
-The anti-missile missiles that seem to work.

Why do the RU have so many new weapon systems?


Since WWII, the ratio of US 4 stars to troops has increased 60x. Why is this?

What do US citizens get out of all this?

-

All the while, the media pushes the fear narrative that we're vulnerable.
There has never been a bigger or better equipped military in the history of the entire world that we know of, yet we're being sold the idea that doomsday is right around the corner.
That the CCP has more of everything than we doo and a billion man army at the ready. Now that's beyond laughable.

Especially when you look at the quality of crap the CCP created, the shit they sold to Pakistan, and how it got it's ass kicked the moment the war started.
I see Russia on the same footing, they have nowhere near the reserves we do, nor the manpower or ability to project beyond their area of influence.

As for the EU?        

That's akin to us calling all of North America the NA. There is but one country with influence in either one of these continents, us the US, and Germany, which has nothing in the form of power in any form.
Their influence came from US/NATO, a false projection of power.
Of course, this is all my opinion, but like many of us old farts, we watch as history unfolds, study the individual players, the patterns, the lies, the bolstering and bravado.

All a part of a narrative that supports the military-industrial complex.

IMO the US MIC exists to serve itself not to fight wars.

The PLA is a question mark as they have not fought recently.
They can make lots of stuff.
In early WWII the Japanese had good weapons but not the ability to make lots more.
The US could make lots more.
In a conventional war with china, China could make lots more but not the US.

I thought that the Pakis shot down French made Indian jets and the Chinese jets were much cheaper.

In recent military parades, the Chinese showed lots of 2 or 3 man cheap gyrocopter teams. Imagine having many thousands of those coming over the horizon.

I heard that the Chinese never gave military the pride of place as in history as they are not trusted. They are a nation of merchants and hustlers. They are taking over the world w/o firing a shot.

Quote from: patentlymn on May 14, 2025, 10:45:54 AMI thought that the Pakis shot down French made Indian jets and the Chinese jets were much cheaper.

Well, machines don't do things by themselves, and a fighterjet doesn't fly to combat another fighterjet. It depends on what strategies and tactics are implemented, and the personnel who uses them.

It seems that Chinese sold Pakistan their non-export PL-15 missiles with longer range than the export variant has, and since the radar on J-10 is not strong enough, Pakistanis used their mini AWACS to guide their missiles.

It also seems there is an important difference between Indian and Pakistani mindset. Indians probably tend to believe if they think positively that they will manifest a positive outcome, so they are too relaxed and less cautious. On the oher side, Pakistani got warrior spirit from Islam, which makes them more capable and also more cautious in combat.

It's questionable whether the Pakistanis really shot down three Indian Rafales as they claim, one is probably proven, but not the other two. It also creates a bad situation for us in Serbia, because we have purchased twelve new Rafales which should be delivered from 2030, and now anti-Westerners are complaining why we wasted the money on Rafales when J-10s are like four times cheaper and "proven better", but it's not that simple.

Quote from: milos on May 15, 2025, 12:55:23 AMWell, machines don't do things by themselves, and a fighterjet doesn't fly to combat another fighterjet. It depends on what strategies and tactics are implemented, and the personnel who uses them.

It seems that Chinese sold Pakistan their non-export PL-15 missiles with longer range than the export variant has, and since the radar on J-10 is not strong enough, Pakistanis used their mini AWACS to guide their missiles.

It also seems there is an important difference between Indian and Pakistani mindset. Indians probably tend to believe if they think positively that they will manifest a positive outcome, so they are too relaxed and less cautious. On the oher side, Pakistani got warrior spirit from Islam, which makes them more capable and also more cautious in combat.

It's questionable whether the Pakistanis really shot down three Indian Rafales as they claim, one is probably proven, but not the other two. It also creates a bad situation for us in Serbia, because we have purchased twelve new Rafales which should be delivered from 2030, and now anti-Westerners are complaining why we wasted the money on Rafales when J-10s are like four times cheaper and "proven better", but it's not that simple.

Interesting about the Serbs. Too soon to tell about the Chinese weapons.Chinese build good stuff for cheap but also have a lot of corruption.  Buyers remorse?  Wait until the F-35s are flown into contested air space with S-400s or the like. I would not bet my money either way.