俄罗斯军事现代化和军力的加强日益对美国和欧洲部队构成威胁。一些国防官员担心，俄罗斯军力不久将挑战美国及其盟国的军力优势。
俄罗斯总统普京不久前炫耀俄罗斯四个新的发射系统，能让美国的防御“毫无用处”，展示了俄罗斯对其核武库重建的信心，成为外界关注焦点。
同样引起美国和欧洲官员关注的是俄罗斯对其常规军队的重新打造，其实力在乌克兰和叙利亚等地已经受了考验。
美国驻欧洲司令部司令柯蒂斯·斯卡帕罗蒂将军星期四在华盛顿告诉国会说：“俄罗斯日趋现代化的军队的运转已达到冷战以来前所未有的程度。”斯卡帕罗蒂将军警告说，美国除了与之并驾齐驱，别无选择。
斯卡帕罗蒂将军进一步强调，如果美国不继续推动军队现代化，到2025年的时候，俄罗斯就可能在“军事上的几乎所有领域内挑战美国。”
兰德公司最近的一份报告也得出结论说，东欧地区尤其脆弱。报告警告说，如果俄罗斯发动常规进攻，东欧地区的北约部队在“人数和武器装备上都远远不及俄罗斯”。
报告说，俄罗斯在欧洲东翼有大约7万8千名士兵，而北约只有3万2千人。俄罗斯有757架坦克，北约只有129架。
然而，美国国会参议院军事委员会成员星期四向斯卡帕罗蒂将军提出这个问题时，斯卡帕罗蒂将军却表示，该地区任何可能发生的冲突都不会完全仰仗地面部队和坦克来完成。
Russia’s campaign to modernize and strengthen its armed forces is increasingly putting U.S. and European forces at risk, with some defense officials raising concerns Moscow’s military soon could challenge the U.S. and its allies for dominance across the continent.
Most of the focus in recent weeks has been on Russia’s newfound confidence in its nuclear arsenal after President Vladimir Putin boasted about four new delivery systems designed to make U.S. defenses “useless.”
Of equal concern to U.S. and European officials, however, is Russia’s re-made conventional military might, which has been displayed and tested in places like Ukraine and Syria.
“Russia’s increasingly modernized military is operating at levels not seen since the Cold War,” the commander of U.S. forces in Europe, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, told lawmakers in Washington, Thursday, warning the U.S. has no choice but to keep pace.
Scaparrotti, who also serves as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, further underscored that any failure by Washington to continue to modernize its forces could enable Russia to challenge the U.S. “in almost every domain, in a military perspective, by 2025.”
A new report by the Rand Corporation ((www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2080.html)) concludes Eastern Europe is especially vulnerable, warning NATO ground forces there would be “badly outnumbered and outgunned” if Moscow were to launch a conventional attack.
According to the report, while Russia has about 78,000 troops along Europe’s eastern flank, NATO has just 32,000. Russian tanks also outnumber NATO tanks 757 to 129.
Questioned by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday, Gen. Scaparrotti pushed back against some of those concerns, noting any potential conflict would not be fought with ground forces and tanks alone.