united states currently worlds only super power?

[lasersailor184]

No Hang, I'm pretty sure that all of Russia's military was geared to self defense, not projecting to the far side of the world.

[Hangtime]

With Major Naval bases in the Med, the Far East (pacific AND indian ocean), the Atlantic they were truly an adversary and superpower. While the mission was obstensibly 'defense', you don't field a world wide Navy with Nuclear capability without the opposition gettin a bit antsy as to intent.

Force Morskyo Flota

Since the mid-1960s, the Naval Forces have increasingly been deployed abroad. In 1964 the Mediterranean squadron became the first permanently forward-deployed Soviet naval force. Since its inception, it has usually had thirty-five to forty-five ships. In 1968 the Soviet Union established an Indian Ocean squadron of fifteen to twenty-five ships. Access to ports and airfields in Vietnam, Syria, Libya, Ethiopia, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen), and Seychelles in the 1980s has enabled the Soviet Naval Forces to repair their ships, fly ocean reconnaissance flights, and maintain these forward deployments. In 1989 Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam had the largest concentration of Soviet vessels outside the countries of the Warsaw Pact.

[lasersailor184]

That says nothing about projecting power Hang.

[BigGun]

China & India still 3rd world economies.

[Boroda]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
That says nothing about projecting power Hang.

So - you finally admitted that USSR was developing a non-aggressive military doctrine?

Who needed to "project" military power? Navy's most significant task was to work on enemy communications in case of another global war, if you think that it's "projecting power" - you are mistaken, it's preventing enemy from doing so. I think it's obvious.

Again: American military plans admitted that Soviet Army could get control over Europe, Mediterranian coast and Middle East in no more then six months after war began, regardless to nuclear attacks.

Now a "super-power" concept degraded to a "country that can do whatever it wants against countries who can't afford total war or nuclear weapons".

I wonder why some people never understand that there was a nation that simply wanted to protect itself from aggressors, and could probably do much better then any opponent if only it didn't have to spend 3/4 of it's effort on defence?

[NUKE]

See Rule #5

[BluKitty]

See Rule #5

[NUKE]

See Rule #5