In the 80s, not only the Air Force, but the US Army were interested in studying Soviet military equipment, methods and tactics for its use. And also the training of their ground units against the enemy, using Soviet combat manuals and tactics of warfare.
To do this, at the US Army National Training Center - Fort Irvine, in the central part of the Mojave Desert, the "32nd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment" was created - a special military formation (OPFOR - Opposing Force) designed to imitate a Soviet military unit in exercises.
OPFOR is armed with samples of Soviet-made military equipment (T-72, T-62, T-55 tanks, BMP, BRDM, military vehicles, etc.), as well as Sheridan tanks and M113 armored personnel carriers disguised as Soviet and Russian military equipment. The personnel of the so-called motorized rifle regiment are dressed in Soviet military uniforms.
Created on the basis of the American Sheridan light tanks and the M113 armored personnel carrier, the imitations of Soviet combat vehicles look very grotesque.
Initially, the source of Soviet military equipment was "Middle East trophies", later the arsenal was replenished by supplies from the countries of the former "Eastern Bloc" and the CIS.
By the time the communist regimes collapsed in the Warsaw Pact countries, there were several hundred T-72 main battle tanks that were quite modern at that time.
Soon, some of them ended up at test sites and training centers of NATO countries, where they carefully checked their security, firepower and driving performance. To a greater extent, this applies to the T-72 of the former GDR and Poland.
Satisfying their curiosity about the T-72, the Americans were not fully informed about the Soviet T-80 gas turbine main battle tank. Before the collapse of the USSR, not a single T-80 was delivered abroad, even to the most loyal allies under the Warsaw Pact, despite repeated requests, these combat vehicles were not supplied.
However, in 1992, one T-80U and one ZRPK 2S6M Tunguska with the corresponding ammunition were sold to the UK through the Russian organization Spetsvneshtekhnika. Later, the British handed these machines over to the Americans. The price of $ 10.7 million paid for revealing the secrets of our most modern machines can be considered a penny. A little later, in 1994, four T-80Us were sold in Morocco, and according to unconfirmed reports, they also ended up in the United States. In any case, they did not enter the Moroccan armed forces.
Since 1996, T-80 tanks have been supplied to the armed forces of Cyprus, Egypt and the Republic of Korea. In total, 80 tanks of the T-80U and T-80UK modifications were supplied to the South Koreans with Agava-2 thermal imagers and Shtora optical-electronic countermeasures.
In addition to tanks, the military of the Republic of Korea received 70 BMP-3 and 33 BTR-80A. Russian-made combat vehicles are used by the South Korean army during combat training to designate enemy equipment.
Koreans speak highly of Russian armored vehicles, note their excellent maneuverability, mobility and reliability. Currently, BMP-3, T-80U and BTR-80A are intensively operated during various bilateral exercises with the US Army. And very often they successfully "smash" American units on "Abrams" and "Bradleys".
The collapse of the USSR and the entire "Eastern Bloc" turned into a real feast for the US technical intelligence services. American "experts" were able to familiarize themselves with most of the models of military equipment and weapons of the former USSR. The only exception was the "strategic deterrent forces", and even then only partially.
OKB Yuzhnoye and Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant, located in the east of Ukraine, made a great contribution to the development of Soviet strategic missile and space technology during the Soviet era. There is no doubt that very soon after gaining independence, the authorities of the "square" were familiarized with all the materials and developments of interest to "Western experts".
And other now "independent" republics of the former USSR did not hesitate to trade once secret military equipment. One of the largest deals was the purchase of 22 MiG-29 fighters by the United States in Moldova.
All acquired MiGs were delivered to Wright-Patterson airbase by C-17 aircraft at the end of 1997.
Apparently, these machines entered service with the Detachment 353rd Test and Evaluation Group flight unit. It is unofficially referred to as the "Red Eagles". According to information unconfirmed by American officials, the Red Eagles are armed with several Su-27 fighters.
This time the Su-27s were of "Ukrainian origin," the first Su-27 entered the United States back in the mid-1990s. Later, two Su-27s (single and twin) were bought in Ukraine by the private company Pride Aircraft. The aircraft were repaired and certified in 2009.
A similar situation was with helicopter technology. The American military highly appreciated the Soviet military transport Mi-8 for their reliability, versatility and high performance. The armored strike Mi-24 carrying powerful weapons became a real "scarecrow" for them.
To imitate Soviet combat helicopters in exercises, the Americans applied Soviet identification marks to their vehicles and modified their appearance.
Bell JUH-1H
Several Orlando Helicopter Airways Bell JUH-1H and QS-55 have undergone conversion. And also used the French helicopters SA.330 Puma, which "portrayed" the Mi-24A.
Helicopter target QS-55
Converted SA.330 Puma
The American military was able to get acquainted with the real Mi-24 in the mid-80s, after the Libyan Mi-25 (export version of the Mi-24) fell into the hands of the French in Chad.
Another Mi-24 was captured by American forces in 1991 in the Persian Gulf.
After the unification of Germany, all the "crocodiles" that were part of the GDR Air Force were at the disposal of the Americans. Helicopters of the Mi-8 and Mi-24 type regularly participate in various military exercises, where they “fight” for the “bad guys”.
Mi-24 flying in the Fort Bliss area, 2009
Google Earth snapshot: Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters at Fort Bliss
A lot of Soviet-made combat aircraft are in the hands of American private owners. The number of aircraft in flight condition today exceeds two dozen.
Google Earth snapshot: MiGs of private owners, Reno-Sid airfield, Nevada
Soviet combat aircraft are widely represented in various aviation museums and at the memorial sites of aviation bases.
Google Earth snapshot: A line of MiGs at the Pima Aerospace Museum near Davis-Montan Air Base
Google Earth snapshot: MiGs at the Fallon base memorial site
Naturally, in addition to aircraft from the countries of Eastern Europe, the United States received means of electronic intelligence and air defense, the interest in which the Americans was especially great.
However, the authorities of the "new democratic Russia" also did not lag behind in the issue of trade and familiarization of "potential partners" with modern weapons, which are in service with their own army.
The most egregious fact of such cooperation was the delivery to the United States through Belarus in 1995 "for familiarization" with the elements of the S-300PS air defense system. Later, the missing parts of the complex were purchased by the Americans in Kazakhstan.
Google Earth snapshot: elements of the S-300PS complex at the test site in the USA
Later, in 1996, an agreement was signed with Cyprus for the supply of two divisions of a more modern version of the S-300PMU-1 air defense system. The actual recipient was Greece, which is a NATO member. The Tor-M1 air defense system was also delivered there.
S-300PMU-1 on the island. Crete
There are S-300PMU-1 also in Slovakia and Bulgaria. There is no doubt that the Americans had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with these air defense systems. It is clear that the export options of the complex have a number of differences from those that protect the skies of our country, but in any case, this "acquaintance" allows us to identify weaknesses and develop countermeasures.
Since the mid-90s, various versions of the S-300 air defense system have been sold to the PRC. As a result, this led to the fact that our "Chinese friends" successfully copied the Russian complex and set up its serial production. Currently, the Chinese air defense system FD-2000 is actively offered on the foreign market, being a direct competitor to the S-300.
A similar story happened with the Su-27 and Su-30 fighters. After the end of the license agreement, the production of aircraft at the aircraft plant in Shenyang continued. The Chinese responded to all claims with polite smiles. Not wanting to spoil the relationship with the "strategic partner", our leadership "swallowed" it.
Not so long ago, information appeared that the PRC wants to buy new S-400 air defense systems and Su-35 fighters from Russia. Moreover, the discussed volumes of supplies of equipment are very small. There is every reason to believe that everything will happen again …
The deal concluded with the United States in 1996 by the Zvezda-Strela enterprise through the mediation of Boeing for the supply of Russian X-31 supersonic air-launched anti-ship missiles is perplexing.
Anti-ship missiles Kh-31
The Kh-31 was used by the American fleet as a target, designated M-31, to develop measures to counter Soviet and Russian-made supersonic anti-ship missiles. The tests took place in an atmosphere of secrecy, but according to information leaked to the media, none of the first batch of missiles was shot down. Based on the test results, a decision was made on the need to strengthen the air defense of American warships in the near zone.
The naval theme deserves special mention. In the military fleets of the countries of Eastern Europe, from a technical point of view, there was nothing that would arouse the special interest of Western specialists.
The exception was the missile boats of the project 1241 "Lightning" (according to NATO classification - Tarantul-class corvettes).
5 project 1241RE missile boats were part of the GDR Navy. After the unification of Germany, one of the Project 1241 missile boats that previously belonged to the naval forces of the GDR in November 1991 was transferred to the United States. Where it was used as a test vessel under the designation Nr. 185 NS 9201 "Hiddensee". He was assigned to the US Navy Research Center in Solomon, Maryland.
The ship has undergone detailed tests and research. American experts highly appreciated the combat and running qualities of the missile boat, its survivability and simplicity of design. The Soviet-built missile boat Molniya was characterized as one of the fastest and deadliest ships of this class in the world.
Google Earth snapshot: missile boat pr. 1241 "Lightning" at the "USS Massachusetts Memorial"
Removed from the US Navy in April 1996, installed in October 1996 as a memorial in Fall River Harbor at the pier of the Massachusetts Memorial Museum "USS Massachusetts Memorial".
After being decommissioned from the Soviet Navy, aircraft-carrying cruisers of Project 1143: "Kiev", "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk" were sold abroad at the price of scrap metal. These warships had a large resource and could, with proper maintenance and repair, remain in the fleet for a long time.
One of the main reasons for the decommissioning of these still fairly new ships is, in addition to insufficient funding, the imperfection and low combat characteristics of the Yak-38 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft based on them.
However, this statement does not stand up to criticism, the aircraft-carrying cruisers could well have been mothballed until better times, with subsequent repair, modernization and re-equipment, as happened with the "Admiral Gorshkov".
Currently, the former Soviet aircraft-carrying cruisers "Kiev" and "Minsk" are used in the PRC as attractions
The history of the aircraft carrier "Varyag" is indicative, which at the time of the collapse of the USSR remained unfinished at the shipyard in Nikolaev with 67% of technical readiness. In April 1998, it was sold to the PRC for $ 20 million.
In 2011, it was revealed that China was completing the completion of the ship, making it its first aircraft carrier. The completion was carried out at a shipyard in the city of Dalian.
Aircraft carrier "Liaoning" during sea trials
On September 25, 2012, in the port of Dalian, a ceremony was held for the adoption of the first aircraft carrier by the Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China. The ship was named "Liaoning".
Throughout the history of mankind, since ancient times, the military of all countries have sought to study the methods of warfare and the weapons of the enemy. In our time, this trend has only intensified. The collapse of the USSR and the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact Organization provided our "Western partners" with an unprecedented opportunity to get acquainted with previously unavailable technologies of the Soviet military-industrial complex and weapons. At the same time, they themselves, despite the statements about "cooperation and partnership", are in no hurry to share military and technological secrets. Our country continues to be viewed by the "West" as a potential enemy, and recent events are proof of this.
Rapprochement with a rapidly growing economically and militarily China in the long term can also have negative consequences. China does not need a strong Russia at all, it is much more convenient for it to see our country as a weak raw material appendage and unpopulated territory.
In a rapidly changing world, Russia needs to pursue a balanced and careful policy in the field of military-technical cooperation. The pursuit of quick momentary profits can turn into big losses in the future. It should be remembered that our country has no allies except its army and navy.
