The expert cited research which focused on armored fighting vehicles, helicopters, rocket and cannon artillery, as well as various logistics platforms. The study was conducted by the RAND Corp., a nonprofit that provides analysis for the US military.
5 M1A2 Abrams MBTs with the USMC Regimental Combat Team stuck in a sandstorm in Kuwait during Operation Enduring Fr… pic.twitter.com/aDW9FZ2Tg6
— Brigadier Foxtrot (@BrigGen_Foxtrot) 2 ноября 2015
The study found, for instance, that the M1A2 Abrams is one of world's top main battle tanks when it comes to anti-armor firepower and protection but it latest modification cannot boast some capabilities which main battle tanks made in Russia, Germany or Israel have.
"What the Abrams does lack is a high-explosive fragmentation round, which is found in foreign tanks. … Foreign tanks also have various capabilities that American vehicles don't, such as active protection systems on Israeli and Russian models, and appliqué top armor on the Leopard," Peck wrote for the National Interest.
Rocket systems developed in Russia and China increasingly exceed US models in terms of range. The study also showed that the US Paladin self-propelled howitzer is inferior to the German self-propelled Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000, which has better range and is capable of delivering more shells in the same time frame as the Paladin.
#ModelMonday: a beautiful @Esercito PzH 2000, self-propelled Howitzer, in Capo Teulada, #Italy during #TJ15 pic.twitter.com/6rbdyZ6KZo
— JFC Brunssum (@NATO_JFCBS) 26 октября 2015
"What's most interesting about the RAND study is that there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between the capabilities of US Army equipment, and those of its allies and potential enemies. America excels in many areas, other nations excel in a few, but no one really seems to have a huge advantage," the analyst observed.
The think tank used publicly available information and its findings are not based on classified data.
