Would Russia Attack & Invade the Baltics? (And Could America's Military Stop Them?)

October 4, 2016 Topic: Russia Region: Eurasia Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: RussiaBalticsNATOU.S.PolandLatviaLithuaniaEstoniaArmorInvasion

Would Russia Attack & Invade the Baltics? (And Could America's Military Stop Them?)

The current NATO force structure in Eastern Europe would be unable to withstand a Russian invasion into neighboring Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Analysts have also said that the Russian military made huge amounts of conventional and nuclear weapons in the 80s, ranging from rockets and cruise missiles to very effective air defenses.

 In fact, the Russian built S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft air defenses, if maintained and modernized, are said to be particularly effective, experts have said.

 In the air, the Russian have maintained their 1980s built Su-27 fighter jets, which have been postured throughout the region by the Russian military.

Often compared to the U.S. Air Force’s F-15 Eagle fighter, the Su-27 is a maneuverable twin engine fighter built in the 1980s and primarily configured for air superiority missions.

While many experts maintain that NATO’s size, fire-power, air supremacy and technology would ultimately prevail in a substantial engagement with Russia, that does not necessarily negate the Rand study’s findings that NATO would be put in a terrible predicament should Russia invade the Baltic states. 

Kris Osborn became the Managing Editor of Scout Warrior in August of 2015. His role with Scout.com includes managing content on the Scout Warrior site and generating independently sourced original material. Scout Warrior is aimed at providing engaging, substantial military-specific content covering a range of key areas such as weapons, emerging or next-generation technologies and issues of relevance to the military. Just prior to coming to Scout Warrior, Osborn served as an Associate Editor at the Military.com. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army - Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at CNN and CNN Headline News. This story originally appeared in Scout Warrior. 

Image: “A M1A1 Abrams battle tank from Tank platoon Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, discharges a 120mm round towards a tank hull during a live-fire range in Djibouti, Africa March 30. Marine tank crewmen engaged various targets alongside the French 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade as part of a joint exercise. The 24th MEU is currently serves as the theatre reserve force for Central Command during its seven month deployment aboard Nassau Amphibious Ready Group vessels. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Alex C. Sauceda)”.